Chroma
by sonomom
Summary: There are some men who enter a woman's life and screw it up forever. Joseph Morelli did this to me—not forever, but periodically. And there are some friends who enter a woman's life—not forever, but change the course of her life forever. Chroma did this to me—and inadvertently set me on the path to happily ever after. Babe HEA
1. Chapter 1

_**As always, I use them for fun and not for profit. The mistakes are all mine, and certainly not jago ji's, who does her best to keep me on track, properly punctuated, and semi-rooted in the canon world of Plum.**_

Chapter 1

Wigged Out

I watched Lula as she walked from the gym. There was a difference. She was still a plus-size woman, but her curves had real definition and she was toned. I've been friends with Lula for a long time, and to say I was skeptical when she announced she was hiring a personal trainer was an understatement. I'd been through her eat one of anything diet, the meat diet and the very short-lived vegetarian phase. I'd been pretty sure the personal trainer wouldn't last long, but I was wrong.

My name is Stephanie Plum and I'm a bounty hunter. It's a job I'm not good at, but I'm no longer terrible at it either. A few years' experience has made me an average bounty hunter, and that's such a big step up from where I started that I'm finding average to be very satisfying. Lula, my friend and the plus-sized woman at whom I was currently staring, was my partner in skip tracing. She'd started out as the world's worst file clerk and climbed the ladder to her current position of really bad bounty hunter assistant. It didn't matter though, because we had the one thing money and experience couldn't buy—luck.

We were the luckiest bounty hunters in Trenton, and anyone you asked would agree. There was a saying about being lucky at cards and unlucky in love. Lula and I had modified that phrase. We were lucky at capture and unlucky at love, and that somber thought brought me back to thinking about the personal trainer.

In the past, Lula had been involved with Tank, Ranger's number two man. Lula always insisted it was casual and most people believed her, but I had seen the unguarded hurt in her eyes on one or two occasions when the subject of Tank arose, and I was sure Lula still had feelings for him. Tank had moved on from Lula to a series of less serious relationships until he had settled down with an FBI Special Agent from Newark. They'd been a steady pair for almost a year when the relationship suddenly fell apart.

Tank's new single status coincided with the start of Lula's personal training regimen, and I was certain the two were connected. I thought Lula was hoping for reconciliation, so on one level I wasn't surprised when the personal trainer outlasted all of Lula's other get thin quick schemes. I _was_ surprised when I saw the results. Lula's propensity for undersized spandex outfits showed every little bump and roll on her torso. These days though, there were no bumps or rolls, just magnificent and generous curves, and although the spandex was still a little on the snug side, it was currently stretching over smoother terrain.

I hoped if Lula's unspoken goal was to reconnect with Tank, she would be successful. And even though I wished the best for her, I was a little tired of hearing her sing the praises of her trainer. I'd hate to think I was jealous that Lula was actually working toward a romantic goal, but there was maybe some of that lurking behind my good wishes for her. I was going nowhere in my own romantic life, so I should have been more supportive of Lula's efforts, but I got bored hearing about the wonderful Chroma.

"Chroma says" was Lula's current favorite phrase. I was still her best friend, but Chroma was fast becoming an important part of her life. "Chroma says I got to get my heart rate up." Or "Chroma says I have great hamstrings." There were days I didn't want to hear a thing Chroma said, but now watching Lula walk toward me I decided maybe I should pay more attention to what Chroma said, because Lula was looking good.

I'd never met the trainer, but it looked like that was going to change soon. The door of the gym swung open and an amazon walked out. She was tan and her hair, a white blond, was cut short and framed her perfectly shaped head. Her head wasn't the only thing that was perfectly shaped. Her body was athletic and as she got closer to the car I could see she must practice what she preached. She looked to be six feet of well-toned muscle and was presently jogging toward Lula with a graceful gazelle-like stride.

My window was rolled down letting the spring breeze ruffle my hair as I watched the scene unfold.

"Lula, wait!" The command was uttered with some urgency. "I forgot to tell you I need to reschedule tomorrow."

Lula stopped and turned toward the woman. "Hunh! Well, when do you want to reschedule for? Tomorrow was supposed to be my upper body day."

"It still can be your upper body day," Chroma told her. "I just can't do this time in the afternoon. I got a call for my left breast, tomorrow. What about the morning? I'm free until noon."

"Yeah, that would be okay," Lula said. "Your left breast, you say? That's the job you were hoping for, right?"

"Yeah," Chroma said, her face lighting up in a smile. ""It will go a long way toward next month's rent."

"Chroma, come on over here. I want you to meet my friend."

As Lula came closer, I got out of the car and stood, resting my hands on top of the open door.

"Chroma, this here is my good friend and the best female bounty hunter in Trenton. This here is Stephanie Plum, the _bombshell_ bounty hunter."

Chroma stepped around the car door and held out her hand. On closer inspection, I could see she was younger than me, maybe mid to late twenties. Her physical presence was imposing, and she towered over me by a good four inches. Her eyes met mine then skittered away. She blushed slightly as we shook hands, and I got the impression she was a little shy. I tried, and failed, not to look at her left breast. I had no idea what they had been talking about, but I thought it would be impolite to ask.

"I'm happy to meet you, Stephanie," she said, giving my hand an extra squeeze before she released it. "Lula has told me some awesome stories about you. You're quite a legend in Trenton." Again, her cheeks flushed and her voice was breathy. She was a perfect physical specimen, and she should have been bursting with confidence, but instead she seemed a little awkward, socially. She wasn't perfect after all. And just like that my small feelings of jealousy melted away. Whether by nature of her personality, or intent, she'd charmed me and I liked her.

Lula poured herself into my car and buckled in as Chroma walked back toward the gym. I slid in, started the engine and pulled out of the lot. "Thanks for picking me up," Lula said. "The Firebird won't be out of the shop until tomorrow, and I need to go shopping today. And I'm glad you got to meet Chroma."

"No problem with picking you up," I said. "I'm glad I got to meet Chroma, too. Uhm, what's the deal with the left breast?"

"Her left breast has a photo shoot tomorrow. She's a body parts model. Her ears and her neck and breasts are all registered body parts. Breasts pay best so she was hoping she'd get this job."

"Just the left breast?" I asked, wondering what kind of a shoot would expose only one breast.

"Yeah," Lula said. "She's playing the role of a nursing momma so they only need one breast and she gets extra for lettin' the baby suck on it. They're gonna have to be quick though, 'cause that particular well ain't never been primed, if you know what I mean."

"You mean she's not a nursing mom?"

"That's what I mean, but the photographer don't care, long as he can get the shot. They'll stick some other head on the picture. I think Chroma's real pretty, but they already got another model for the face."

And I thought bounty hunting was a bad way to make a living. I had to reconsider. It sounded a lot better than letting a strange baby attach himself to my nipple, and then have an even stranger photographer record it.

"I'd think she would make enough money as a personal trainer to pay her rent," I commented as we drove down Hamilton.

"She's sort of new to town and she don't have a big clientele built up yet. She's always doing something for extra money and I'll tell you this breast thing pays big. Way more than her ears or her neck. You know that big billboard across from the ER at Helene Fuld?" Lula asked.

I nodded, not really sure if I did or not. "Well, that big picture of a woman's neck with the diamond choker on it is Chroma's neck. And even though it's a big picture it didn't pay her hardly nothin'. She told me her boobie will pay her a thousand bucks, and you won't even be able to see much of it with the baby's head in the way an' all."

I pondered that bit of information for a while before I realized Lula and I had never decided where we were going shopping. I assumed the mall, but with Lula it was always best not to assume. "Are we shopping for anything special today?" I asked.

"Yeah," Lula said. "Wig-A-Do is having a hump day sale. Ain't that funny? When I was growin' up, Wednesday night was church night. Now, it's a day for humpin'!"

"Uh, I don't think that's what hump day means."

"Sure it does."

"No, I think hump day means it's the middle of the week and everything is downhill after Wednesday."

"Hunh," Lula said. She was quiet for a moment considering what I'd told her. "I like my idea better. Anyway, they got their Tina Turner wigs at half-price and I wanna try out a new look." She looked sideways at my hair. I'd scraped my curls up into a messy ponytail after I showered and had let nature have its way with them. "You might want to consider a new look, too," she added.

The staff at Wig-A-Do flitted around Lula, sensing a big commission, and they pretty much left me to browse. I wasn't interested in a wig, but there were many to choose from. I watched as Lula went from blonde, to redhead and several shades in between, before finally settling on the Tina Turner model she'd come in for.

My eyes strayed to a silvery blond wig. I'd been a blonde once, for a short time. Not long enough to find out if it was true that blondes did have more fun. Maybe I should give the wig a try, because I wasn't having much fun lately. Ranger was keeping his distance, presumably to give me and Joe a chance to work on things. The day I casually mentioned to Ranger I was starting to feel the need for a committed relationship he'd grabbed hold of the front of my shirt, drawn me to him and kissed me senseless. Then he told me I was always welcome in his bed but he wasn't cut out for forever.

I'd turned to Joe, because he was safe and comfortable and he fit well into my Trenton life. Things should have been great, but there was some spark or zing that just wasn't there between us anymore. I didn't want to think it was a case of now that he had me, he didn't want me, but there were times I wondered. He seemed to be less interested in lovemaking than he was with watching a ballgame while snarfing down Pino's pizza. When I tried to question him about it he blamed the pressure of his job, but I still wondered. It had occurred to me several times that we needed something to put the zing back into our love life and suddenly, looking at the blond wig, I was struck with an idea.

Two hours later we were at the make-up counter in Macy's and Lula was an enthusiastic co-conspirator of my plan. The blond wig was in place covering all my brown curls. The fringe of platinum bangs accentuated my blue eyes currently wearing the new smoky-eye collection for blondes, and my lips were in the process of being plumped under two layers of pouty-petunia lip gloss. My jeans and t-shirt had been exchanged for a little black dress with a low neckline. The shoe box that had originally contained the five-inch stilettos, now pinching my toes, was the new home of my Chucks.

"Officer Hottie ain't gonna know what hit him," Lula said. She reached across and dipped a brush into a jar of powder that glimmered with soft gold sparkles. Ignoring the frown of the make-up lady, Lula dusted my cleavage. I should have felt self-conscious, sitting at the counter with shoppers walking by, but I was really getting into the spirit of the adventure. Joe was expecting me for dinner, but he wasn't expecting the femme fatale I was morphing into. I thought I might succeed in making him forget about dinner and the ballgame. It would be just the little spark we needed.

We left the mall with Lula driving. Our plan was set. As we neared Joe's house I could see he wasn't home. That was good. I'd have a chance to get inside and really take him by surprise.

"Okay," Lula said as I got out of the car. "I'll drive this hunk of junk to work tomorrow. Morelli can drop you off at the office and then you can take me to pick up the Firebird from the shop."

"It's a plan," I said. I walked up the steps to Joe's and used one hand to rummage in my purse for keys, while the other tugged on the high hemline of the dress to make sure my ass wasn't hanging out.

I managed to get inside without Bob, the dog, knocking me over. My balance wasn't the best in the heels, but there was no denying, they did things for my legs. I bent to hug him and he licked my face. "Thanks, boy," I said. "That's more enthusiasm than your daddy has shown me lately."

I let Bob out into the back yard and stood watching him. Joe's yard was fenced, but a determined Bob could get out, although today he seemed content to stay within his boundaries. I heard the front door open. Joe. My heart skipped a beat and I realized I was nervous. I wasn't used to role playing and although I thought I looked pretty good, I didn't know how Joe would feel about my new look. I kept my back to him, my eyes trained on Bob. I'd wait until he was closer before I turned around.

I heard his step falter when he saw me, and then he continued toward the kitchen walking noticeably faster.

"Baby," he said, as he placed his hands on my shoulders and bent to nuzzle my neck. "What are you doing here? I told you Stephanie would be here tonight. You know I want you to stay, but you're going to have to go." Numbly, I let him turn me toward him and I saw his eyes widen in recognition.

"Baby?" I asked.

He didn't even try to hide his mistake. "Shit, Stephanie. I'm sorry." He moved his head back and forth as if to deny what was happening.

"Me, too." I doubled my fist and hit him in the jaw as hard as I could. His head rocked back as I heard the snap of bone. "You-sorry-son-of-a-bitch." Each word was punctuated by a throb from my hand. I walked quickly out of the room and grabbed my purse from the dining room table. I'd left it in plain view. You think the philandering idiot would have recognized it, even if he didn't recognize me. The door slammed behind me.

As I stepped onto the porch I realized I had no ride. Great. I felt wetness on my face and was surprised I was crying. And then I realized I wasn't. It was raining. Could the day get any worse? I walked down the steps and knew it _would_ get worse. I was going to walk home in FMPs that weren't waterproof. On the bright side, I didn't have to worry about spicing up my relationship with Joe Morelli any longer.


	2. Chapter 2

**_As always, I use them for fun and not for profit. Thank you for the tremendous response to the first chapter._**

Chapter 2

Lucky Break

The day had been nice, but in the early spring evening, the rain was cold. I was holding up pretty well. The wig was keeping my head dry, and the spandex content in the dress was causing the rain to bead up and run off before it could be absorbed. The pain from walking in my new, non-waterproof pumps was offset by the throbbing pain in my right hand. I held it up for inspection in the fading daylight. It was swollen and starting to bruise, and I'd probably have to have it x-rayed. First things first, though. I had to make it home and I had four long blocks left to go.

I could have called Lula to come get me, but I wasn't in the mood to talk about what had just happened. And what had just happened? I thought it was the abrupt death of Stephanie Plum and Joe Morelli. I should have been angry, but I was more confused and at the same time, relieved. Oh sure, I'd get pissed once I stopped and really thought things through. He'd cheated on me. That was obvious. I didn't deserve that. I should have felt a crushing hurt, but I didn't. I wasn't even crying, at least I didn't think I was. It was hard to tell with the rain running down my face.

I concentrated on the sidewalk with its uneven surface. Careful steps insured I didn't step on any cracks. I was pretty sure my hand was broken, so there was no sense in inflicting unnecessary sidewalk pain on my mother's back. How was I going to pay for the emergency room bill? They'd have to take payments, because even though my rent was paid and there was food in the cupboard, there was no money left for extras this month.

The low thrum of a powerful engine pulled my mind to my present surroundings. I recognized that thrum and in my peripheral vision I saw the Porsche pull to the curb. Ranger. His trackers had found me which shouldn't have been surprising, but it was a little. He'd been distant lately, and I wasn't aware he was keeping such close tabs on my movements. It was sort of heartwarming. I sighed and made a left turn. My heels sunk slightly into the soft ground as I walked to the curb. Guarding my sore right hand, I managed to get the door open with my left hand and I collapsed into the passenger seat. As I turned to look at him, I saw a brief look of surprise before the shutters came down.

"It's a wig," I said. His eyes had traveled from my face and were staring at my cleavage. The glimmer powder Lula had dusted on me had morphed into one golden rivulet running from my chest straight into my cleavage, where it had congealed at the top of my breasts and formed something that resembled an arrow. Great. It looked like a highlighted map line on GPS. Follow the yellow brick road. My nipples contracted at the thought of Ranger following the trail, and I glanced at him quickly to see if he'd noticed. His eyes were focused lower. There was a long expanse of leg showing, as my dress was hiked up way too high for propriety, probably as a result of my less than graceful entry into the car. Instinctively, I reached to pull the hem down and remembered with blinding clarity, my injured hand. I moaned.

"Morelli?" he asked, reaching out to run a fingertip softly over my swollen and disfigured hand.

I nodded. "How'd you find me so quick? I know I've got trackers, but my car is with Lula."

"You've got trackers in your purse as well, but I hadn't received any notification you were in trouble," he told me. "I was on my way to RangeMan when I decided to make a detour by your place. I had something I needed to talk to you about and when I saw you…"

"Wait," I interrupted. "You saw me? You recognized me from the back… walking… in the rain…in a wig? How'd you know it was me?"

"Babe."

"I'm serious," I said. "You couldn't have known it was me. I'm blonde!"

"I've seen you blonde before."

"Yeah! Well Morelli, the rat bastard, didn't recognize me when I was in his own kitchen." Ranger didn't respond. There was silence in the car as he pulled away from the curb and accelerated. It didn't take long to cover the four blocks to my apartment, but the Porsche never slowed and we passed my apartment without even a sideways glance from Ranger.

"Hey," I said. "I need to go home."

"You need to have that hand looked at," he said. I said nothing, because he was right. After we'd traveled a couple of blocks more, it became apparent he was heading for St. Francis. I couldn't go there. It was too close to the Burg and I knew half the ER staff. I needed some space.

"Uh, would you mind," I started hesitantly, "if we went to Helene Fuld?" The corners of his mouth curved up slightly, but he didn't comment and turned the Turbo north at the next intersection.

In the parking lot, Ranger backed the car into the space. The darkness of the evening was obliterated by the red light reflected into the car's interior from the large sign proclaiming the Emergency entrance. He leaned over and pulled the wig from my head. I felt my hair spring loose and then I felt Ranger's hands moving gently through it. His fingers carefully smoothed soft waves around my face and lifted the curls at my nape. I hadn't realized I was holding myself so tensely, but his hands in my hair relaxed me, and I sighed as I leaned back against the seat.

His eyes glowed black in the dimly lit car, and his expression was serious as he worked his hands through my hair. I couldn't read his mood with certainty, but I thought there was a glimmer of concern, and that made me feel a little better.

After a moment he took his hands away and reached toward the glove box. His knuckles grazed my knees as he released the latch. I frowned as he handed me a few white paper napkins. I was wearing black. Ranger was, of course, in black and the black butter-soft leather of the car wrapped around us. The light from the ER sign tinted the wad of white napkins red, but they still looked garish in my hand. Then he turned the visor down and I looked at my reflection in the mirror.

Eek! The smoky-eyed femme fatale face that had been so carefully painted on at the Macy's cosmetics counter had melted. I looked like a reject from Gene Simmons's fan club. It took a minute and a second napkin, but I made the necessary repairs, and suddenly the napkins more closely matched the interior of the car. I saw the elusive half-smile as Ranger watched me drop them to the floor.

"C'mon. Let's get your hand looked at." He came around the car and helped me out. I saw our reflection as we approached the double glass doors. I looked like me again and I was grateful to Ranger for the transformation.

We'd been sitting in the waiting room for about twenty minutes when I noticed Ranger look at his watch for the third time. We hadn't been talking because Ranger doesn't do casual conversation, and the pain in my hand was making it difficult for me to concentrate on anything but the non-stop throb.

"Do you need to leave?" I asked. "I'll be fine here. I can call my dad for a ride."

"I have some business to take care of," he replied. "I was hoping to wait until you were called back. I won't be gone long and I should be back in time to take you home."

"You said you were on your way to my place when you saw me," I said. "Did you need to talk to me about something?"

"I needed to hire you for a distraction," he said. "But I don't think it will work now. You'd need two healthy hands. I wanted you to play pool at Shorty's tomorrow, to attract the attention of someone I intend to apprehend."

I said nothing as I looked at my swollen hand. Even if it wasn't broken, and I was sure it was, I would be in no condition to shoot pool. And that was too bad, because I was going to need some extra money, thanks to Joe Morelli and "Baby" whoever the heck she was.

"Call me if I'm not back by the time you're done," Ranger said. "I've got a quick client meeting I can't miss. I can call Tank to wait here until I'm back."

"Thanks, but it isn't necessary. It's just my hand. I'll be fine alone." Before he could respond, a tired looking nurse in blue scrubs came into the waiting room and called my name. I followed her into the treatment area and showed her my swollen hand. Then I was left to wait for the doctor.

The doctor turned out to be Ilene Jefferies, who'd been in Joe's class in high school. So much for trying to escape the Burg.

"We'll have to get x-rays," she said, "but from the looks of this hand you've got what's known as a boxer's fracture."

"A boxer's fracture?"

"Yeah. It happens when you make a fist and then smash it into something hard. Like, maybe, Joe Morelli's face."

"Yeah, maybe," I said. I wasn't going to admit to anything.

"I remember when you ran over him and broke his leg," Ilene said. "That was what? Eight or ten years ago? I can't believe you guys are still at it."

Something about the way she said it, so matter-of-factly, struck a chord deep within me. "We're not still at it," I said. "Tonight was the end." And I knew it was the truth.

An hour later I had been x-rayed, medicated, and casted. The medicated part was the best, and the medicine had been working pretty good when I chose a black cast to match my outfit. I walked back into the waiting area and did a quick search. No Ranger, so I went to the desk and asked the clerk for a copy of my bill. I might as well see how poor I was going to be.

"It's taken care of," the clerk said. "Your boss gave us all your insurance information."

"My boss?"

"Yeah, that really hot guy who brought you in—your boss, right?"

"Right," I said.

That gave me something to think about. I'd worked many times for Ranger as a temporary employee. I had no idea he carried insurance on me. Maybe he wasn't being as distant as I thought. I pulled my phone from my purse with my good hand and called him.

"I'm five minutes out," he said by way of a greeting.

"Okay, I'll meet you underneath the ER portico." I disconnected before he could, and giggled at my victory.

I wobbled a little as I walked through the ER doors. My hand wasn't hurting any longer and neither were my toes, but I pulled off my pumps and let them dangle from my good hand as I leaned against the brick wall and waited for Ranger.

I looked out at the night. The rain had stopped, but there was still a dampness to the air that made the night misty. My eyes skimmed the building across the street and opened wide when I focused on a large billboard. The billboard showed a woman's elegant neck wrapped with a diamond choker. I knew that neck, I realized. I was looking at the billboard Lula had been talking about earlier. It was Chroma's neck. Poor Chroma, who was going to have to bare her left breast tomorrow to pay her rent. And that's when I got the idea.

The Porsche glided to a stop in front of me and Ranger got out. He came around the car and helped me settle into the passenger seat. As he leaned in and reached across me to fasten the seat belt, a faint scent of Bulgari tickled my nose. I closed my eyes and enjoyed it. When we were both snug in our seats, I reached my good hand out to cover his, which was getting ready to put the car in gear.

"Thank you."

"Babe."

"I mean it, Ranger. Thank you for helping, and for not asking."

"You're welcome."

"Before we leave," I said. "I want you to look at that billboard." I pointed to the building across the street.

Ranger looked and then turned a questioning look toward me. "You want a diamond necklace?" he asked.

"No," I said, a little impatiently. "You want that neck!"

"What did they give you for pain?"

"I don't know, but I'm not high. Well, maybe just a little. But the thing is, I know that neck and the body attached to it. She can help you." An ambulance drove in the entrance and Ranger put his car in gear and left the ER driveway.

"What are you going to do about the distraction job tomorrow?" I asked.

"We'll use plan B."

"What's plan B?"

"I don't know yet," Ranger said. "The guy's name is Lonnie Murdoch and he's unstable. He's been showing up at Shorty's. I thought the easiest way to get him out of the establishment without tearing up the place would be to have you entice him. We can manhandle him if necessary, but I hate to disrupt Shorty's business. And Murdock has always got people with him. A woman is the one sure way to get him outdoors, alone."

"I couldn't do it even if my hand wasn't hurt," I said. "I know Lonnie Murdoch and he knows me." I grimaced as I remembered the unsuccessful attempts Lula and I had made to capture him. Fortunately, the charges had been dropped and we were off the hook.

"I know someone who can help you, though," I said. "It's the woman who belongs to the neck on the sign. She could do the job, I'm sure of it. And if we call her now, she won't have to have her breast sucked on by some anonymous baby."

Ranger turned toward me, one eyebrow raised high. "What did they give you for pain, Babe?"

I rolled my eyes, sighed and began a detailed explanation of Lula and her personal trainer. By the time I had got to the body part modeling Ranger had pulled the Porsche into my parking lot.

The bright lights of an SUV followed us into the lot and Joe Morelli pulled alongside the Porsche. Suddenly, my pain was back. My hand was throbbing and so was my head.

"Do you need me to come in with you?" Ranger asked.

"No," I said. "This is something I need to do alone. But thanks for the offer. I think one boxer's fracture is enough for today."

Ranger smiled and reached across me to unhook my seat belt and open my door.

"If you think your friend Chroma can do the job, have her at RangeMan tomorrow at nine. I'll interview her and if all goes well, she can keep her breast tucked safely away in her bra."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

No Pain, No Gain

Morelli waited until Ranger left before he spoke. "I brought your things back," he told me as he hefted the strap of a duffel bag over his shoulder. "I'd like to get mine."

I nodded and we entered the building together. I headed up the stairs, not wanting to wait on the elevator. Mrs. Bestler at the controls would be more than I could handle at the moment. As we stood in front of my door he wordlessly took my purse from my good hand and rummaged around inside until he found my key. I lifted an eyebrow wondering where his key was. He read my thoughts.

"It's in the duffel."

"Joe."

"Stephanie."

We spoke at the same time. "Stephanie," he continued. "Look, I'm sorry. About the hand—and everything."

"What's everything, Joe? Are you sorry you cheated or are you sorry you got caught?"

Joe's lips whitened and thinned and I knew he was biting them as he mentally counted to ten. He looked lean and mean. "Be careful about throwing rocks, Cupcake. It didn't take you long to fall back on Ranger."

"That's not fair," I shouted. I walked into my apartment and spun to face him as he came in behind me. I took a step sideways to steady myself when a sudden dizziness came over me.

"Stephanie, wait," Joe held up his hand, then he shrugged his shoulders and sighed. I saw the fight go out of him. "I don't want it to be like this. It's over and we both know it, and we could stand and throw blame all night long. But we shouldn't."

I walked to the sofa, sat on the edge of the cushion and remained quiet. I felt like I was floating above the scene, emotionally distanced from what was happening. What _did_ they give me for pain? What Joe said next brought me back with a thump.

"Yes, I've been seeing someone else and, yes, I know about all those times when you supposedly never crossed the line with Ranger, but we can't go there."

"Supposedly never crossed the line?" I questioned. The tone of my voice was rising and I was getting ready to completely lose my temper. And then unexpectedly, the urge to scream at Joe left. It didn't matter who was right or wrong, what mattered was _we_ were wrong.

"Get your stuff," I said looking up at him. I couldn't stop the little smile when I noticed the asymmetry of his jaw and the shadowing of a bruise. "And then go." I stayed on the sofa. I'd be damned if I was going to get up and help him pack.

When he left five minutes later, I walked into the bedroom. I noticed the few items of mine that had been at his place were folded neatly and stacked on the edge of my bed. My toothbrush and shampoo were balanced precariously on top, as was the single key to my apartment. I realized the key to his house was still on my key ring, but I didn't bother trying to chase after him.

One piece at a time, I moved the clothing and toiletries to the top of my dresser and then I flopped onto the bed. The jangle of pain from my hand was sharp and unexpected and reminded me the pain medicine must be wearing off. Wearily, I got up from the bed and went in search of the bottle of pills that was hiding somewhere in the black hole of my pocketbook's interior.

I went to the fridge for a bottle of water to swallow my medication, but the only thing I saw was a mostly-full bottle of wine. I found a jelly-jar glass in the cupboard, which I filled. I never considered the advisability of swallowing a pain pill with wine, at least not until much later. The wine went down smoothly, and I refilled my glass before I went back into the living room.

I figured I'd have an early evening so I made my way across the room and slid the security bolt in place. I didn't think Joe would be back, but I was adding a little insurance anyway. Then, suddenly, I remembered the distraction job, and Chroma. I called Lula and gave her the barebones details of my evening, and of Ranger's resultant offer.

"I think that would be good," Lula said. "I'll call Chroma and then I'll let you know what she says."

My phone rang again less than a minute later. "That was quick," I said as a greeting. "Do you have her on speed dial?"

"Stephanie?" My mother. Shit.

"Sorry, Mom. I thought you were Lula. What's up?"

"I've got something to tell you about your sister." There was a pause while my mother let the importance of the _something _sink in. "Are you sitting down?"

"Yes," I said, realizing I was about to hear I'd be an aunt again. Great, just what I needed. I didn't really mind the new niece or nephew, but another example of Valerie's wedded bliss would be fodder for my mother. And when she heard Joe and I were no longer together—I took a big drink of wine, rolled my eyes and tuned back in on what my mother was saying.

"…they've been separated for quite a while now. Albert has been staying most nights with his mother. Valerie has decided to go through with the divorce."

"What?" I asked, unbelieving. "They're not separated. You told me they were all at Sunday dinner just last week."

"They're keeping up appearances for the children, and Albert will still be very involved in the girl's lives. Even with Mary Alice and Angie. He's been such a good stepfather to them."

There was no doubt, this was big news, but as my mother prattled on about child support and co-custody I realized her voice was upbeat. She seemed almost cheerful. I didn't understand it at all.

"This is terrible," I said.

"No," my mother said, "it isn't. Albert was a rebound relationship. She never should have married him. She's been taking online courses, and she's got her teaching certificate updated. She's going to start substitute teaching at St. Margaret's, and the baby can go to daycare right at the school."

"You don't seem that upset," I commented.

"It's the right decision for Valerie. I am against divorce in principle, but you know sometimes it's the only option." There was again the pause that made me think my mother was going to drop another bombshell, and I was correct.

"You made the right decision, Stephanie. To leave Richard, I mean." My mother was the only person who ever referred to Dickie Orr, my pond scum ex-husband, as Richard. "He wasn't good enough for you. I realize that now. And if you hadn't left him you and Joseph would have never gotten together, and everyone can see how well that's going."

"Yeah," I said. "Going well." I cradled the phone between my shoulder and ear while I reached forward to lift the wine bottle from the coffee table. I refilled my jelly glass. I was partly tipsy, in no pain any longer, and I was a coward because there was no way I was going to tell my mother about my early evening adventure. She'd find out soon, but not from me. We disconnected and I reached for the remote.

I began to giggle, for no apparent reason. It was just that the wine had really relaxed me. I was a lightweight when it came to alcohol, but what I was feeling was a little extreme, even for me. I felt good. My hand wasn't hurting and I even wiggled my fingers experimentally with no adverse results.

When my phone rang again I checked the caller ID before I answered. It was Lula. "Well, was she interested?" I asked.

"Yeah, she is," Lula answered. "But she can't get to RangeMan at nine. She wants to know if she could meet Ranger at ten. She's got early morning appointments at the gym."

"That would probably be okay," I said. "I'll call Ranger and let him know." We made arrangements to meet in the morning and as we disconnected I focused on the old black and white movie playing silently on my TV screen. I left the sound down, but watched as a man and woman danced with one another, their bodies swaying to the unheard rhythm. The woman's hair was a wild mass of curls, and I began to fantasize that I was the woman and the tall dark-haired man who was her partner was Ranger. I could feel the Latin beat and his hand low on my hips, pulling me into his movements. Ranger! Crappity, crap, crap, crap! I almost forgot to tell him of the change in plans.

I called Ranger and he picked up immediately. I heard soft music in the background and something that might have been muted conversation.

"Whatcha doin'?" I asked. There was silence for a moment.

"Did you need something?"

"Yeah. Chroma can't make it until ten tomorrow. Would that be okay?"

"Yes." Again he was silent, waiting, and I could still hear voices in the background.

"Are you at a party? I am, too!" I was a brilliant conversationalist. I reached out to grab the bottle of wine momentarily forgetting the cast on my hand. I tipped the bottle and it fell, striking the rim of my jelly-jar glass, shattering it and sending shards all over the floor. "Dang!" I wailed.

"What was that, Babe?"

"I knocked over the wine bottle, and it knocked over my glass and my glass broke."

"You're drinking wine?"

Not anymore. "Yes." I stopped to sigh dramatically before I continued. "And I'm barefoot."

"What?"

"I'm not wearing shoes and there's broken glass," I explained patiently.

"Can't Morelli clean it up?" There was another conversational pause while he waited for my answer, and I wondered why he thought Morelli was with me.

"Let me talk to Morelli."

"Okay," I snorted, "but you'd better talk loud. He lives over a mile away."

"You're alone, and you're drinking?"

"I'm celebrating. Joe and I are over. He brought me all my stuff and he took all his. We're done. Totally. Finally."

"Is your pill bottle nearby?"

"Yes, it's in my purse."

"Can you reach it without stepping on the glass?" What an odd question, I thought.

"Yes."

"Take it out and read the label."

I dropped the phone in my lap and picked up my purse from the end table. I rummaged through an assortment of necessary stuff until I found it. "It's says _May cause drowsiness. Alcohol may intensify this effect_. But I don't feel drowsy at all. I feel great." And then I looked down and saw the phone in my lap and began to giggle. I'd forgotten to pick it up before I started talking. I held it up to my ear and listened. I couldn't hear the background music and conversation any longer.

"Ranger?" There was no answer. He'd hung up on me. Darn.

I tried to get off the sofa once, but I was a little dizzy. I decided to sit back down and ponder the best path around the glass. I'd already been to the ER once tonight and I didn't want to make an encore appearance. My eyelids felt a little heavy. Maybe the medicine was making me drowsy after all.

I don't know if I slept, but suddenly I was wide awake, and the dancing couple had been replaced by Humphrey Bogart, smoking a cigarette and looking serious. The locks on my door tumbled, and I turned my head toward the foyer. I think I quit breathing for a little bit. Ranger, magnificently outfitted in a tuxedo that had to have been custom made for him, stood staring at me.

He slipped off his jacket and hung it carelessly on my coat rack. The breadth of his shoulders in the tuxedo shirt, that was caressing every muscle like a second skin, was breath taking. His breadth took my breath. I giggled at my clever thought. The man was beautiful. Looking at the floor, he made his way toward me, carefully avoiding the pieces of glass. He stopped at the edge of the sofa and bent to pick up the bottle from the table and frowned as he realized it was empty.

"It wasn't full when I started," I assured him. Without a word he bent once again, set the bottle down and scooped me into his arms. My world spun again for a few moments, only this time I didn't think it was the pain medicine. I giggled again as Ranger walked toward my bedroom. I swung my arm over his shoulder, and we both groaned as my cast struck the side of his face.

"Sorry," I said. "I forgot I had it on, and now it's throbbing again. I need my pills."

"No, I don't think so," Ranger said.

"I do!" I insisted. "They told me to keep ahead of the pain, and I can feel my hand starting to hurt again."

"I'll find you a leather strap to bite on," he said with a completely straight face. "You're not getting any more pain medicine tonight."

He plopped me, none too gently, on my bed and went to the dresser. He opened the top drawer and turned toward me with a raised eyebrow. I blushed when I saw what he was holding. My pajamas, a recently purloined black t-shirt sporting the newest incarnation of the RangeMan logo. We hadn't seen much of each other lately and I didn't want him to ask how I'd gotten hold of the new shirt. I didn't think Ella would appreciate being named as my accomplice.

"Can you undress yourself?" he asked me.

"Yes."

"Get ready for bed, then. I'm going to clean up the glass and when I'm done I'm going to come in here and get into bed next to you."

"Y-you are?" The idea was distinctly pleasing.

"Yes. You've mixed a narcotic pain medicine with alcohol and you shouldn't be alone, so I'm going to sleep with you. Is it likely that Morelli is going to show up in the middle of the night with a gun? If that's the case I'll take you to RangeMan."

"Morelli won't be back," I assured him. My hand was throbbing, but suddenly I wasn't minding it. I picked up the shirt and hurried into the bathroom. This night was ending up way better than it started.

I was lying in bed, taking slow deep breaths, trying to quell the faint nausea that had me worrying I might throw up, trying to ignore the increasing throbbing in my hand, and concentrating very hard on the tingle in my lower body that had begun when Ranger said he'd be sleeping in my bed. Minutes later, he came back into the bedroom and switched off the light. I heard the rustle of clothes being removed and felt the dip of the bed as he slid in beside me. I waited.

I waited until my body moved of its own volition. Carefully, I rolled toward him and placed my lips on the satin smooth skin of his upper chest, and I moaned. Because rolling over had started the room spinning, and the touch of my mouth to his skin had my heart pumping at a rapid pace.

"Not tonight," he said.

"What?"

"Not tonight." He gently rolled me away from him and then put an arm around me and pulled me back close to him, spoon fashion. I could feel evidence against my back that his body wasn't singing the same song as his mouth.

"I thought you were an opportunist," I said. "I'm giving you the chance to take advantage of this opportunity."

"Taking advantage of this opportunity would be taking advantage of you. _If_ we do this again, we will both be willing partners who've given full consent. You're not in any shape to make that decision tonight."

"When."

"Babe?"

"When we do this again. Not if."

I couldn't see his face, but I thought he was smiling.

"Go to sleep, Stephanie."

Surprisingly, I did.


	4. Chapter 4

_**I use them for fun and not for profit. Thank you jago ji, for taking out commas, putting in commas, and for making this readable.**_

Chapter 4

New Beginnings

The alarm clock buzzed annoyingly in my ear. I raised my arm and then stopped my hand in mid-descent. I opened one eye and regretted it immediately as sunlight from the window pierced my retina and exploded in my brain like a water balloon dropped from the roof. I remembered the cast on my hand inches before it smacked the snooze button. Gingerly, I rolled over and shut the alarm off with my left hand and then laid back while images of the night before began finding their way back to my conscious mind.

Ranger. Where was he? He was no longer in my bed, but I thought I could smell a whiff of Bulgari. And then I sniffed something else. Next to the alarm clock on my night table sat my hangover cure. There was a straw, still in the wrapper, balanced on the lid of the large cup of Coke. He must have set the alarm to give himself enough time to get out of the apartment before I woke, because the French fries were still warm, and I wasn't imagining the scent of Bulgari. Was he avoiding me?

Why would that be? Because he thought I'd be embarrassed about the way I'd acted? Well, I was a little mortified, but it wouldn't have been the first time I'd been that way around him. More likely he just wanted to avoid any time consuming entanglement that might have arisen had he stayed to see me. I smiled at what I thought might have arisen, and picked a long crispy fry from the carton.

My head hurt and my hand hurt, although the pain was a little duller in my hand than it had been the night before. I was halfway through my Coke and completely finished with my fries and deep in contemplation of the why-nots of mixing drugs and alcohol when I looked at the clock. Lula and Chroma were due in less than half an hour. I needed to get moving.

Getting dressed was a little difficult, but I managed to pull on a t-shirt and get my jeans zipped one-handed. Socks were another challenge, which I met awkwardly. I resorted to leaving the laces on my Chucks untied. Like most Jersey girls I am ambidextrous when it comes to make-up application, so that was no problem. But then there was the matter of my hair…

Thirty minutes later, I opened my door to Lula and Chroma. It was obvious they'd both been working out. Chroma was displaying her distraction job qualifications in black yoga pants and a painted on black t-shirt that left at least a four-inch strip of bare midriff showing. Lula was dressed similarly, but in her case the yoga pants were hot pink. She wore a black t-shirt as well, in honor of RangeMan, I supposed.

Lula gave me the once over and glanced at the knock-off Burberry chronograph on her wrist. "I was hopin' we could get the Firebird out of the shop this morning, but I guess it can wait until after Chroma's meeting. We got work to do here." She grabbed hold of my good arm and dragged me across my apartment and back into the bathroom. She pointed toward the toilet and said, "Sit." I did. "That's a big cast for just punchin' Morelli one time. You sure you told me the whole story last night?" I declined to answer.

Chroma stood in the doorway and watched with an amused look on her face, but said nothing. Lula, with the flat iron in one hand and the extra-hold Aqua-Net in the other, set to work. I was a little nervous ten minutes later as I stood to look in the mirror, but as my reflection came into view my eyes widened. I looked pretty good. The off-center ponytail I had scooped my hair into was gone. My hair fell to my shoulders in soft waves. It had been sprayed just enough to control the curls without making them immobile.

"Lula, this looks great!" I told her honestly.

"Oh, it's nothin," she said. "I went to beauty college for a week, before I got my own corner and became a full-time 'ho. Only thing is, this took up valuable time and now I'm going to have to go to RangeMan with you and Chroma, cause she can't be late for her job interview."

"It's not a job interview," Chroma said. "It's just the chance for one evening's work."

"Well, you never know. It could work into something." Lula unplugged the flat iron and made a shooing motion with her hand. "We need to get going. I call driver, and Chroma calls shotgun. You can sit in the back, Stephanie."

"I can drive," I said. "It's my car."

"Yeah, it's your junk heap," Lula agreed. "And you probably could drive it one-handed, but you can't drive until you been off pain pills for twenty-four hours. You been off them for twenty-four hours yet?" I handed her the keys.

I found myself sitting alone in the break room at RangeMan. Occasionally, a Merry Man wandered in and nodded his head in acknowledgement, but for the most part I was ignored. It was a busy day, apparently. Ranger had taken Chroma into his office, where it seemed he was conducting a full interview. Tank and several other men had been in the break room when Lula and I walked in, and it had only taken Lula a couple of minutes to cull Tank from the herd. I'd seen the double take when Tank first got a glimpse of her. Chroma's training was paying big dividends, it seemed. I had a clear view to the door of Ranger's office, so when it opened I was on my feet almost immediately. I walked into the hall where Chroma was shaking Ranger's hand.

"I won't let you down, sir," she told him.

His answering smile was wide. "I'm sure you won't, Chroma, and call me Ranger. Lester will be up here in a minute to fill you in on the details. He'll be working behind the bar tonight and he will be the one who wires you. He'll take you shopping as well. He knows better than anyone what kind of outfit you'll need."

"I'm sure I have something suitable," Chroma said.

"You might," Ranger replied, "but Lester will know what hides the wire the best, so RangeMan will provide it for you. Here he is now," he said. Lester was introduced and seemed pleased about his new assignment. I couldn't blame him. Chroma was pretty and her body was…just spectacular.

Ranger turned to me. "Stephanie, could I talk to you for a moment, in my office?"

"Sure," I said. As I turned to follow him, Lester and Chroma made their way down the hall. They passed Lula who was walking toward Ranger and me with an unusual spring to her step

"I'll just be a minute," I said to Lula. "I need to talk to Ranger for a bit and then we can go."

"Uh, that's okay," Lula said. She held out my car keys and continued. "I have an errand to run near here. I'll just catch a ride to the car shop and get the Firebird."

"I can't drive," I told her. "What about the twenty-four hour drug-free rule?" Lula came close to me and stared into my eyes.

"You ain't got no pinpoint pupils, you'll be okay." She thrust the keys into my palm and closed her fist over mine, wrapping the keys in my hand.

"I'll make sure Stephanie gets home okay," Ranger said. He tilted his head a little to the side and made a slow appraisal of Lula. "You're looking good, Lula."

"Yeah," she agreed. "It's Chroma. She's my personal trainer, and she's working me into a good shape." She gave Ranger a wide smile and turned back down the hallway where Tank was lounging, trying, and failing, to be inconspicuous.

"You're gonna catch more than a ride," I mumbled as I walked behind Ranger into his office.

He shut the door and turned to face me. "How's the hand, Babe?"

"It hurts, but I'll live."

"It occurs to me that it will be a while before you can work effectively as a bounty hunter."

"Yeah," I said. It had occurred to me, too. If RangeMan was picking up the hospital bill that made things a little easier, but I had to have a source of income now. And Ranger was right. There was no way I could apprehend FTAs with a cast on my hand. I frequently couldn't do it when I had two good hands.

"I could use some help with research," he said. "I know it's not your favorite thing to do, but Rodriguez can always use an extra set of hands, even when one of them is casted."

"Well, I could probably manage to use a mouse and a keyboard," I said. "But I don't know what Vinnie will say. I'd be leaving him in a bad spot."

"I'm not worried about what Vinnie will say. I'll send someone from RangeMan to fill in for you. Can you handle what Morelli will say?"

"Morelli?" My voice was low. "Why are you concerned about Morelli?"

"Because, typically, he gets upset when his girlfriend is working for someone he considers the enemy."

I moved closer to Ranger. "There is no Morelli. We are done. It is over."

Ranger said nothing, but stared at me until I could feel a blush rising up my cheeks. I was remembering last night in my bed, and my overture that was rebuffed. Struggling for something to say, I said the first thing that came to my mind.

"I hope this isn't a charity offer. I know I'm not Rodriguez's favorite person."

"No, it's not charity. I'll expect you to work for the pay you'll receive. I'm just taking advantage of your present situation. Rodriguez needs the help."

"Taking advantage, huh?"

He smiled at me and I felt heat that had nothing to do with an embarrassed blush.

"I'm an opportunist," he said.

"Apparently, only by day and not by night."

"When was your last pain pill, Babe?"

"Before you arrived last evening."

He took a step toward me and I took a step toward him. His arms went around me and his head dipped, and I felt the pressure of his lips along the base of my neck. My entire body spasmed and he used my lack of control to push me back against the door. He leaned his lower body into mine, and I felt him hard against my belly. Slowly, our upper bodies came together and his lips found mine. It was just a kiss and even though it was fantastic, it was no more than I'd come to expect from Ranger. But it had been a long time since we'd shared this intimacy, and I was enjoying it with every inch of my being.

I felt the vibration of a hand knocking on the office door. Ranger pulled back. The knock came again. "Boss, you in there?" It was Lester.

"A minute," he replied. He pulled me away from the door and stood breathing deeply, but I knew he was really giving me time to regain awareness of my surroundings. Eventually, I stepped to the side of the door, and Ranger pulled it open. Lester and Chroma stood next to one another, and I could see that Lester had ascertained the situation almost immediately. He grinned at me and even without looking I could sense Ranger's frown.

"I'm taking Chroma over to Shorty's to check out the place. I thought it would be better if she was familiar with the bar before tonight. I'll have her wired and then we'll all meet up about eight, if that's okay with you."

"Yes…" Ranger started as his phone buzzed. He looked at his text message and the frown was back, full-force. "I have something I need to attend to ASAP," he said. He looked at Lester. "Could you give Stephanie a ride back to her place? And make arrangements for Hal to pick her up about seven-thirty tomorrow morning."

"Can do," Lester replied. Ranger nodded his approval and pushed me out into the hallway, closing the door to his office.

"Hey," I said before the door latched. "How will I get my car?"

"Tomorrow," came Ranger's response as the door latched shut. I stood still, reeling slightly from the rapidity of Ranger's dismissal.

"Let's go, Beautiful," Lester said, tugging on my arm, but he was looking at Chroma and I wasn't sure he was talking to me.

As the RangeMan SUV pulled into my parking lot, Chroma turned from the passenger seat to look back at me. She reached back and placed her hand on my knee. "Thank you, Stephanie," she said, giving my knee a quick squeeze. "I really appreciate this opportunity and I won't let you down. Ranger told me that you've done a very good job for him in the past, and I'm going to try hard to live up to your reputation."

"Thanks," I said. I remembered my first distraction where I'd talked to the perp about group sex, not realizing at first that all the merry men present were listening in. "I bet you'll do great, but don't forget everything you say will later be used against you." I met Lester's iridescent green eyes in the rearview mirror and I saw the humor in them. He remembered my conversation very well, I knew.

I was disgruntled at being dumped at my apartment while Lester and Chroma were off to have fun. It would have been nice to hang out with them at Shorty's for a while, and the pizza would have better than anything I could come up with, but Lester never made the offer so I settled for lunch on my own. It was a little troublesome, but I managed to slap together a peanut butter and olive sandwich. I was sitting on my sofa eating lunch and trying to decide if my hand hurt badly enough for another pain pill when my phone rang. It was Valerie.

"Hey," I said. "I talked to Mom last night."

"I know. That's why I'm calling. Albert has the girls tonight, and I was wondering if you and Joe don't have plans maybe the two of us could go out to dinner. Mom doesn't quite know the entire story."

"There is more than a divorce?" I asked, wondering if there was a third party involved, although I couldn't imagine either of them cheating on one another.

"No, but Mom doesn't realize how far into this we are. The divorce is final, today. I was thinking you and I could celebrate my new beginning tonight."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. "I guess I've got some things to tell you, too." There was no divorce for me, but there was a new beginning. We made arrangements for her to pick me up and disconnected. I ambled into my bedroom and fell on the bed in my thinking position. And I thought. No more Joe and no more Albert. Things were changing for the Plum sisters. I hoped no more Joe would mean way more Ranger, but he'd always been clear about his stance on relationships.

The thing was, he would be exclusive. I was sure of it. There would be no promises or plans for the future, and he would always keep a certain part of himself private. I thought I could live with that and wondered about the possibilities of Ranger and me, when there was no guilt over Joe to intrude.

I was almost asleep when the phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID. Lula

"What's up?" I asked.

"Aaachoo! Achoo! Achoo!"

"Been to Tank's?" I asked sardonically. "You'd better restock your supply of allergy medicine."

"Nah. I think I'm just comin' down with something."

"Yeah, sure." I didn't blame her for wanting to keep any development between her and Tank quiet, but we both knew what was making her sneeze. Tank had cats and Lula had allergies.

"What you doin' tonight?" she asked.

"I'm having dinner with Valerie."

"Hey, that's great. She can come, too. I was thinking we should stake out Shorty's tonight and watch what goes down in the parking lot."

"I don't know," I said. "Valerie said she wanted to talk to me."

"Well, a stake out is a pretty good place to talk and anyway, she probably wants to see how Chroma does, too. Now that she dumped ole Albert she could use some excitement."

"Wait. How do you know about that? I just found out yesterday."

"Valerie has been working out at the gym. Chroma's been training her, too. This is gonna be fun. Girls' night out. What time are you picking me up?"

"I left my car at RangeMan this morning. You'll have to come over here."

I wasn't at all sure we should be planning to surveil a RangeMan takedown, but I was curious to see what would happen. All the action would take place outside the bar, and really…what could go wrong? RangeMan was in charge.


	5. Chapter 5

_**As always, I use them for fun and not for profit.**_

Chapter 5

The Eve of Distraction

Valerie and I faced each other across my open doorway. "Well," she said finally. "Are you going to let me in?"

"Y-yes," I stammered. I stepped back and let her pass by me. "Val, you look—good." Good didn't really describe her. It had only been a little over a month since we'd actually seen one another in person, but I had talked to her on the phone, and my mother always kept us apprised of each other's news. It seemed somehow impossible that she could have changed so much in such a short time.

"Yep, I do look good," she agreed. "And I feel great. Chroma says I'm a natural athlete and she thinks I should start running marathons." I rolled my eyes. Here we go with the _Chroma says_ stuff, I thought. A closer inspection of Val made me gasp as I realized I was looking at a Chroma clone. I was sure she'd lost a good twenty pounds since I'd last seen her. Valerie certainly didn't have the height of Chroma, but she was leanly muscled. She was just a little rounder through the hips, but hey, she'd had four kids. Her hair, which sometimes in the past reminded me of Meg Ryan's wispy do, was now a carbon copy of Chroma's white-blonde spikey cut. It was oddly flattering. And disconcerting.

Valerie had long been the underdog, first with Steve's infidelity and then with an unplanned Kloughn baby...and then another unplanned Kloughn baby. Now, she seemed to be taking control of her life and choosing her own destiny. Maybe it was time for me to take a lesson from her.

Before we could settle in for a good sisterly discussion, there was another knock on the door. I opened the door and Lula stood in front of me with a Kleenex pressed to her nose. At first, I thought she was crying, but then I decided her eyes were just watering. She pushed by me and walked into the living room and perched her bottom on the edge of the sofa. She leaned forward, her body racked with a series of sneezes, and buried her face in a handful of tissues.

"Oh, dear!" Valerie exclaimed. "Are you sick?"

"Nah, it's just allergies. Probably hay fever now that spring is coming on."

"More like cat fever if you ask me." I gave her a sidelong glance, which she returned.

"Well, if we're going to name it, more like Tank fever." Her grin was infectious, and I responded, but I still worried a little about her and Tank reconnecting. It had hurt her before when it didn't work out. I hoped she was strong enough to deal with the outcome this time. Valerie was looking perplexed, so I took pity on her and explained.

"Tank has cats, and Lula has been spending some time with Tank. Problem is she's allergic."

"Well, that's easily solved," Valerie said. She dug in her purse and pulled out a business card. "This is Mary Alice's allergist. Give him a call and he'll fix you up."

Lula took the card and offered a heartfelt thanks, followed by three sneezes.

We went to the parking lot and made a quick decision to use Valerie's gray SUV for our adventure. My car was still at RangeMan and would have been recognizable by anyone participating in tonight's capture. Likewise for Lula's Firebird. The SUV was the perfect answer, so we piled in and drove off to find a quick meal before we began our stakeout.

It was one of those early spring evenings when something deep inside me stirred. The temperature was cool, but the air was clear and I felt energized. I was restless and I wanted something, badly. Only trouble was I wasn't really sure or brave enough to look closely at what I might want. The feeling of unease was probably why I had agreed to Lula's scheme to stake out the distraction. It beat staying at home and thinking about a life without Joe and hoping for a life with Ranger.

I suggested the drive-thru at Cluck-in-a-Bucket, but Valerie and Lula opted for Subway. They were both turning down high-fat fast food in favor of healthier fare. I reminded myself not to underestimate Chroma.

Shorty's was not in the best part of town, but we arrived there safely, just as the sun was setting behind the low roof of an abandoned warehouse across the street. There were a few cars parked at the edge of the lot and quite a few more vehicles parked closer to the door. Shorty's did a good business and I understood Ranger's desire not to mess up the interior of his friend's establishment. Valerie backed into a space between the trash dumpster and a pick-up truck, and we settled in to wait.

It was shortly before eight when a RangeMan SUV pulled into the lot. Ranger, Lester and Tank exited the vehicle. Ranger and Tank disappeared around the side of the building, and Lester went inside. Five minutes later, Lonnie Murdock and two over-muscled, beer-bellied goons piled out of a beat-up pick up and entered the building.

"Where's Chroma?" Lula asked.

"I dunno. I thought she'd be with Lester." We only had to wait another minute before the answer became clear. Ranger's Porsche Turbo pulled into the lot. As the driver's door opened and Chroma stepped out, there were three indrawn breaths.

"She looks fabulous," Valerie whispered.

"He let her drive his Porsche. Can you believe it?" Lula turned toward me with her question. No. I couldn't believe it. My stomach was roiling, and I was glad we'd eaten at Subway. I'd have been in bad shape if I was still trying to digest Cluck-in-a-Bucket. I didn't want to spend too much time wondering what was causing the upset stomach. I didn't want to admit I was feeling a twinge of jealousy at seeing another woman in Ranger's car.

Things were quiet, but I knew Tank and Ranger were nearby, waiting. We tried to remain inconspicuous, sliding low in our seats and talking in whispers. I didn't think Ranger or Tank would recognize Valerie's SUV, and I didn't think they'd care that we were watching, but I thought we should try for a low profile. It would be kind of fun if we could pull off our surveillance without them knowing.

Chroma was a fast worker. We only had to wait about twenty minutes for the action to pick up. The back door to Shorty's opened and Chroma stepped out. I heard Lula's window power down and I leaned instinctively toward it to listen. Lonnie was behind Chroma, one arm extended, his fingers curled over her shoulder. The rest of his attention was focused entirely on her ass. The sequined black tube-top glittered in the light from the halogen fixture above the door. Her hair glowed like a halo around her perfect head. She was laughing and murmuring things unheard by us over her shoulder, but Lonnie was apparently taking it all in. They stopped half-way to the Porsche and she turned toward him, wrapped her arms around him and kissed him full on the mouth. Then she turned and walked toward the car, and he eagerly followed.

I knew from experience, Ranger would let her get near the vehicle before he and Tank intervened, and I watched in quiet expectation as I saw a flicker of movement from the corner of the building. Ranger and Tank were getting ready to make their apprehension.

The sneeze was loud and followed by two more in rapid succession. Both Chroma and Lonnie turned toward us and I ducked, but I wasn't quick enough. He saw me, I was sure of it.

"What the fuck. I know you!" Lonnie shouted at me. "You're the bounty hunter. What the hell is going on here? Is this a set-up?" What happened next was a blur. Ranger and Tank both made a move for Lonnie from opposite sides, but they stopped cold when they saw Lonnie had Chroma pulled against him, one arm tightly around her neck and the other holding a long knife against her throat.

Lonnie looked over at the SUV and yelled, "You're not going to get me, Stephanie Plum. You and that fat 'ho better stay back, if you wanna keep this chick alive."

Lula slid open her door as she pulled a Glock from the waist band of her pants. "I ain't fat," she said. "I'm full-figured."

"Lula," I said. "Put that gun away and get back in the SUV. Valerie, start the engine. Now!" Valerie paid attention to me and turned the key in the ignition. Lula paid me no attention. She was a woman on a mission.

"You, let go of my girl, you dickwad! You hurt Chroma and I'm gonna shoot your balls off." She stood two-fisting the gun, her hands trembling noticeably in the dim parking lot light. Suddenly, Tank was by her side. For a big man, he'd moved with incredible speed and stealth. He disarmed her and pushed her back into the vehicle in one smooth move. Ranger was standing immobile, blank-faced, watching along with the rest of us at a simple distraction turned into a hostage situation.

Even though I was watching closely, I can't completely remember everything that happened next. In a move worthy of an Olympic gymnast, Chroma bent in two and at the same time raised her leg and kicked Lonnie in the chest. He staggered back and Chroma responded again. Her body was a whirling dervish, with arms and legs flying out and making contact with Lonnie in rapid kicks and blows. Guttural sounds, mostly grunts with a few foreign words I didn't understand thrown in, echoed across the lot. With a start I realized they were coming from Chroma, in sync with every blow she delivered. There was a clink and then a thud as the knife hit the pavement, followed closely by an unconscious Lonnie.

"Chroma, are you okay?" Lester asked from Shorty's back doorway. He came quickly across and bent to restrain the unmoving form. "That was fantastic. How'd you do it?"

"It was one of the best displays of Systema I've ever seen," Ranger said as he walked up and nudged Lonnie with the toe of his boot. He shot a sideways glance at Chroma who was standing quietly next to the lump of Lonnie. "You didn't kill him but you could have. Are you all right?"

Chroma took a deep breath and nodded.

Lester stared down at the perp and then looked toward Ranger. "Systema?"

"Systema," Ranger paused for a moment and once again gave Chroma his attention. "A little known Russian martial art." He reached out and turned Chroma toward him and his eyes took in her face as if really looking at her for the first time. "And the question is, where did you learn it?"

Chroma stared at him for just a brief space of time before she answered, her voice clear and decisive. "I spent the last six months in Eastern Europe before I settled in Trenton. I—was a mercenary."

"I didn't see mercenary listed on your resume," Tank said as he joined the group.

I was shocked. She was a personal trainer, a body parts model and a mercenary. I was impressed and totally jealous. I was also aware that we were presently being ignored by Ranger and his men. His attention would soon turn to us and that probably wouldn't be fun.

"We need to leave now!" I told Valerie, but she had shut off the SUV, and she and Lula were getting back out of the vehicle and walking toward Chroma. I knew this was not a good thing and in fact, I was the only one of us who realized the seriousness of the situation. Ranger was not going to be happy with any of us.

Lonnie groaned and rolled his head side to side, and Lester leaned down to help him to his feet. Then, as if directed by radar Lonnie's eyes opened and his head turned. He focused on my sister. "Valerie Plum, you bitch. You'll be sorry you ever messed with me."

"Shut up, Lonnie," Lester growled. He turned and looked to the edge of the lot where another RangeMan SUV was turning in. "About time," he mumbled. "We need to get him out of here before his friends decide to leave. That's all we'd need."

Within thirty seconds, Vince and Cal had secured Lonnie in the back seat of their SUV and had left the lot. I started walking backward toward Valerie's vehicle, but stopped to listen to a conversation between Lula and Valerie.

"How do you know Lonnie?" Lula asked.

"He was my date to the junior-senior prom," Valerie said. "He got a little upset because he caught me making out with another guy at the after-prom party."

"No!"

"Yeah," Valerie said, giving me a sideways glance. "Joe Morelli."

"What?" I said.

"Well, it was just that one time."

"And you're broken up anyway," Ranger said. "You're finished. Totally. Finally."

I shot him a dirty look, but he didn't see it. He was glancing from Tank to Lester, the three of them engaging in some non-verbal form of communication. I'd seen it before. They had worked together for so long they knew how, and possibly what, each other was thinking.

Tank made things verbal, and I began to catch on. "I'll take Lula," the big man said. Ranger nodded and I thought he rolled his eyes a little. I almost smiled, but I didn't because Ranger's words confirmed my suspicions.

"We only have one safe house available, and I think it should go to Chroma. She's the one who kicked the shit out of Lonnie and he'll want revenge. I'll call Woody to get her settled in."

"Thanks," Chroma said. "I appreciate having somewhere safe to stay. My apartment would be too accessible. But I don't need a babysitter. I can take care of myself, and Lonnie doesn't know who I am, in any case.

Ranger considered for a moment and then gave her the two hundred watt smile. "I think you can take care of yourself," he agreed. "I'd like the chance to spar with you. Not too many people in Trenton can claim your level of competency at Systema."

Chroma dimpled at him. A perfect body, a beautiful face and dimples. Shit. "That would be fun, sir. Are you into Systema?"

"It's Ranger, and yes, I'm a practitioner."

Valerie, thankfully, interrupted the conversation. "What are you talking about?" she asked Ranger.

"We're talking about protective custody. Lonnie ID'd you and he's got friends and connections. Lots of them. We need to keep you safe until we can get Lonnie transferred and booked. Probably a couple of days. We can't be sure he hasn't got eyes on us right now."

"Oh," Valerie chewed on her bottom lip. "What about my kids?"

"Where are they now," Ranger asked. His brow wrinkled as he considered a new complication.

"They're with Albert and his mother. I won't get them back until after school on Monday morning."

"That should be good," Ranger said. "He called you Valerie Plum. He probably doesn't know your married name. Now we need to figure out a place to hide you away."

"I've got it," Lester said, stepping forward. "I've got someplace totally off the grid, but if I take her I won't be available for any duty shifts…it's a ways out."

"You're sure?" Ranger asked. "I'm not asking you to breach your privacy for this."

"It's okay," Lester said. He turned toward Valerie. "I'll keep you safe. You can trust me." He met my eyes and gave me a big grin. "I'm trustworthy, right, Beautiful?"

I wanted to make a snappy comeback, but the truth was he was trustworthy. I wasn't sure how much danger any of us were in, but Ranger, Lester and Tank were acting like we were in a lot of trouble. "You'll be safe with Lester, Val." I said. Then I drilled Lester with a direct stare. "Where are you taking her?"

"Can't say, Beautiful. It's a secret, but just like Batman has the Bat-cave," he winked at me and shot a sideways glance at Ranger. "I have my own Fortress of Solitude."

At this statement, Tank laughed. "More like the love shack, if you ask me." Tank's low baritone rumbled into a deep chuckle. Twin frowns appeared on Val's and my foreheads.

"He's teasing, Beautiful," Lester said, his own forehead lining in irritation. "I'll keep your big sister safe."

Another black SUV pulled into the lot and Woody got out. Ranger gave him instructions and Chroma left with him. She was going to be all on her own, in a RangeMan safe house. Lula was leaving with Tank, and I figured there'd be plenty of unsafe stuff going on with them, but Lula was going into it with eyes, if not nasal passages, wide open. I was a little worried about Val, but she was practically bouncing with excitement, and appeared to be looking forward to the adventure.

In short time Lula and Tank left in the last remaining RangeMan vehicle, Lester and Val sped away in her SUV, and I was left with Ranger. He wasn't smiling, but it wasn't exactly the blank face either. I knew where we were going, and I was both looking forward to it and a little afraid. Protective custody might as well be called protective prison when Ranger was in charge. I glanced around the lot and saw no one except a couple making out against the wall by the front door. They didn't look like they were on Lonnie's payroll, and I thought it would be safe for me to go home. On the other hand, staying in close proximity with Ranger would have could have its benefits, but Ranger was angry, and sooner or later I'd hear about it.


	6. Chapter 6

**_It's all for fun and not for profit._**

Chapter 6

An Exceptional Woman

Ranger entered the elevator after me and paused for a moment before he pointed the fob at the control panel to take us to the seventh floor. It was enough to irritate me. I didn't want to go where I was unwanted and it was looking like I was unwanted.

"You know, I don't need a babysitter. You're letting Chroma stay on her own, and I'm as capable of taking care of myself as she is."

Ranger raised an eyebrow but said nothing and I was glad, because even I had to admit the display Chroma had put on with Lonnie was impressive.

"You're due at work early tomorrow morning," Ranger said, "so you might as well stay here. Since I am responsible for your safety, I brought you to seven, but perhaps you feel you'd be safer on four. I believe there is an apartment available."

Was that what the pause was about? Ranger was undecided? I had at first thought he'd hesitated because he didn't want me in his space. Maybe he was giving me an out, because he was angry with me. I knew he was angry because I knew Ranger. He hadn't given any outward sign of his displeasure, but I had sensed it even as things were going from bad to worse in Shorty's parking lot. Or maybe he thought I didn't want to be with him. Heat washed over me as I remembered my rebuffed overture, the night before in my bed. Okay, that wasn't the reason.

"I don't want to be any trouble. I will be perfectly fine in my own apartment. You can just post someone outside if you're worried."

Ranger fobbed the door to his apartment open, and touched my elbow guiding me in, in front of him. He tilted his head to indicate I should enter the living room. I did and curled up in the far corner of his massive leather couch. A minute later he came into the room carrying two bottles of beer. He handed me one and sat in the armchair facing me.

"You are my responsibility," he said. "It was a RangeMan operation that put your safety in jeopardy, and RangeMan will protect you until the threat has passed." He took a long draw of the beer and then set the bottle on the end table. His elbows rested casually on the chair arms and his fingers were steepled in front of him. I recognized this position. I knew he was getting ready to talk with me, and I knew from previous experience, the steepled fingers were not a good sign.

"Do you know why we chose to apprehend Lonnie in the parking lot?"

"Uhhhmm." Brilliant, Stephanie.

"It was because he is dangerous, potentially," Ranger continued. "Lonnie has a few men who will follow him blindly, their loyalty coming from the very substantial financial benefit of their mutual association. As long as there is a chance they can get him free, you, Valerie and Lula will be in danger. Chroma is unknown to them, so is at less of a risk." He paused to take another drink and I awkwardly lifted my bottle with my left hand as well. I suddenly felt the need for liquid courage.

"It will be Sunday," Ranger continued, "before we can have Lonnie delivered to the authorities in Virginia and probably Monday before we can get the word out on the streets of his re-incarceration. Until that time, none of the three of you will be without RangeMan protection."

We sat for a while in silence, each of us seemingly lost in our own thoughts. Well, my thoughts were mainly about what was going on in Ranger's mind behind his carefully constructed blank expression.

"What's between Tank and Lula?" he asked suddenly.

"Until this morning, I don't think anything was between them," I answered. "She called me late this afternoon and we…" My voice trailed away into an indecipherable mumble.

"You made the plan to attend the distraction?"

"Yes," I said, trying and failing to keep the defiance out of my voice. I didn't want to take the complete blame for something that was only partly my fault. "Lula and Valerie are clients of Chroma, and they wanted to see her in action. We didn't plan to make ourselves known. I don't know what went wrong."

"Babe, we knew you were there from the beginning. I thought I could trust you to stay out of the way."

Did I hear disappointment in his voice? Surely not. He told me I never disappointed.

"Well, it wasn't me who blew our cover," I snapped. "And that brings us right back to the subject of Tank and Lula. I think they spent the afternoon or at least part of it together. She's allergic to cats and she's the one who sneezed, loudly!"

I saw the corners of his mouth twitch slightly. "That's convincing evidence," he said. "The fact remains that two of my top men are out of the rotation until I can get Lonnie transported. Cal and Vince are taking care of that. I can't spare another man to stand guard at your apartment, so you're stuck with me, Babe."

"I don't have any of my things here. I need to go home." It had been a long time since I'd spent the night in Ranger's apartment. The idea of staying with him for the next couple of days was appealing, because before the demise of Joe and me, he'd really been keeping his distance. This seemed like a good time to change that, so I don't know what made me whine about going home. He'd said I was stuck with him, but I was worried he was thinking he was stuck with me. He hadn't answered. "I need to feed Rex," I said.

"I'll take you back tomorrow. Ella has left a couple of things for you in the closet, so you can make do until then." There was a pause and then he gave me an oblique look. "You can find your pajamas in the dressing room. I have something similar to what you were sleeping in last night."

"No need to be a smart ass," I grumbled. I thought he was teasing, which was a good sign. I was a little embarrassed for him to know I'd reverted to one of his t-shirts for bed wear. I hadn't dared to wear one when Joe was a part of my life, but that time was over now.

"Make yourself at home," he told me. "I'm going down to do a more complete background check on Chroma. If she was in Eastern Europe recently, I'll be able to track her work record. We ran a preliminary check on her earlier today, and decided she was a go for the distraction job."

"Why do you need to track her work record?"

"Because there are only a couple of organizations that would allow a woman to work as a mercenary and I want to find out which one she was involved with and what she did for them. I think I know where she acquired her Systema proficiency, but I'm looking for information that will confirm my hunch."

"Are you upset because she kept it a secret? Does that mean she won't be doing any more distractions for RangeMan?" I waited for his answer with interest. I had recommended her, but after tonight I was feeling odd about Chroma and RangeMan. I wouldn't admit it to just anybody, but somewhere deep down I was feeling a little insecure. I was the RangeMan distraction girl, and I wanted to keep that job.

"Not mentioning her previous experience as a mercenary is not damning. It had little to do with her being capable of performing competently as a distraction. Everybody at RangeMan has a least one deep dark secret, and if she wants to keep her past to herself, I won't hold that against her. I just want to find out which side she was working for, because if she's been doing what I think she has, I'm going to offer her a job. I'll be up later."

He stood and held out his hand for my empty beer bottle. He took it, along with his, into the kitchen and I sat stunned on the sofa. Ranger was going to bring a woman into the midst of the merry men. That wasn't surprising. The surprising part was…it wasn't me! When I looked up he was standing in the doorway.

"Go to bed, Stephanie."

I didn't like the sound of that. It sounded as if he was sending me to my room like a disobedient child. It was clear he was anxious to get downstairs to check Chroma out, but I wasn't finished with our conversation.

"Are you sure you just don't want to put me in time out?"

His eyes were dark, his gaze penetrating and his body motionless as he took in my words. I resisted the urge to turn tail and run into the bedroom, but screwed up distraction or not I wanted to make my point. I didn't want to be a pesky detail he had to deal with and that was the feeling I was getting. Oh, okay, that feeling was probably partly motivated by guilt. Secretly, I felt bad about how things had turned out. I didn't like to be in the situation to once again have to be rescued by Ranger. I wanted to be the kick-ass rescuer, like Chroma.

"You want to be put in time out?" His voice was smooth but there was an undercurrent I couldn't put my finger on. Humor? I didn't think so. Irritation? Much more likely. "You want to be punished?"

"No!" I said. "I don't want to be punished, and I don't want to be ordered around like some recalcitrant child."

"It wasn't an order. I know how well you respond to orders." Yep. It was irritation. "It was a suggestion. You've had a full day after what was an eventful evening yesterday and you have to be at work early tomorrow morning. It was a suggestion that you go to bed so you can be at your desk by 0800. It's when I expect my other employees to be at their desks, and I won't make an exception for you."

"What about the other woman?" I said, standing to face him, even as I was mentally telling myself to shut up.

"What other woman?"

"Chroma. If you hire her you'll have two RangeMan women employees." Shut up, Stephanie. "Will you make exceptions for her?" I wasn't sure why I was baiting Ranger. Maybe it was because I didn't want him to hire Chroma. Maybe I was jealous, or stupid, or ungrateful.

I _was_ ungrateful, I realized in a moment of clarity.

Tank was off taking care of Lula. Well, okay, maybe that wasn't such a big deal. But Lester was somewhere off the grid taking care of Valerie. And Ranger was taking care of me. We had upset the workings of RangeMan although that had not been our intention. Well, the road to Hell was paved with good intentions. I felt suddenly embarrassed by my churlish behavior.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Three."

"What?"

"Three. I will have three women working for RangeMan. First, there is Ella, who is by anyone's standards, exceptional. Second is Chroma for whom exceptions will have to be made because of her gender if she is to become a member of the team." He walked across the room and pulled me to him, bending his head to rest his forehead against mine. "And third is the woman who is, without exception, an important part of my life. She is not a burden I am saddled with. She is not an unwanted visitor, and she is not a charity case. She is a friend. Now, go to bed."

He pulled back and as he turned from me his lips grazed my forehead. I stood quietly and watched him walk from his apartment. He didn't say lover. I was going to work hard to make sure that was the first descriptor on his list in the future. I turned and went in search of the RangeMan shirt he'd mentioned. I was going to put it on and slip between his luxury sheets and begin my campaign strategy to change my status from friend to lover.

Ranger and I had been this route before. We had shared a bed for almost a week once without getting physically involved. There had been desire on both parts, but his respect for my feelings had kept us from doing what Lula referred to as "the nasty." I knew from earlier experience there was absolutely nothing nasty about it.

I performed some basic bedtime ablutions, one-handed and awkwardly. I evaluated the probable uselessness of my right hand and was surprised to find I could use it a little. I could dress and undress myself, but it did take a little longer than usual. I thought I could probably slide a mouse around and work search programs, too. So I was feeling a little upbeat as I slid between Ranger's sheets. My mind was whirling with possible scenarios that would put Ranger and me in close proximity. The most obvious one was to make sure he was aware there was no guilt about Joe lingering tonight.

When the idea came to me, I knew it was the right one. I didn't stop twice to think about it. This was the time for daring moves and I was about to do something a good Catholic Burg girl had been taught never to do. It was completely out of character for me, but tough situations called for brave action. I threw back the covers and headed to the bathroom. The white terry cloth robe Ranger never wore was hanging on the back of the door.

Yes, I was going to do something very daring, but the sensible side of me wanted a little insurance. I mean, even RangeMan could have a fire in the middle of the night. I laid the robe on the carpet at the edge of the bed where I could easily reach it in an emergency. Then, I one-handedly pulled the t-shirt over my head and wriggled my panties down around my ankles. I stepped out of them and back into bed, naked as the day I was born. And I waited for Ranger's return.

Sometimes it's hard, when you first wake up, to figure out what was a dream and what was real. I remembered a warm body curling into mine, and arms pulling me tight against a firm body. But as I rolled over I saw that I was in bed alone. Had I dreamed Ranger getting into bed next to me? I'm a bounty hunter, not a PI, but it didn't take many skills to figure out Ranger had been next to me in bed. I could see an indentation on his pillow, and I could, maybe, smell the faint scent of Bulgari. I sat up in bed and the covers fell to my waist. I drew in an indignant breath of surprise. I was wearing the RangeMan t-shirt I had discarded the night before. I lifted the covers and looked a little lower. No underwear. A glance at the floor next to the bed showed my panties to still be in the spot where I'd stepped out of them.

I sat for a moment, mentally getting in touch with my inner self. I was pretty sure nothing had gone on in the middle of the night. No sore muscles. No wonderful sense of well-being. I'm a sound sleeper, but there was no way I could sleep through Ranger's lovemaking.

It was déjà vu all over again! For the second morning in a row I had awoken to an empty bed. I'd been rebuffed twice. My virtue was intact (so to speak) and my dignity was in shreds. I rolled my eyes and spoke out loud in the empty bedroom. "Houston, we have a problem."

**_A/N: I have enjoyed the between the numbers books written by JE, and I got the crazy idea to write a between the chapters story during Chroma. I couldn't quite figure out how to post it on FF without making it a stand alone one-shot, and I didn't want to do that. Normally, I've been posting twice a week, but between this chapter and the next regular chapter of Chroma I'm going to post a little surprise. My between the chapters...chapter. It is not a R/S chapter, and it's not technically a part of Chroma, so it's not necessary to read it to continue with Chroma...but I'm hoping you will. I had great fun writing it! _**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer: ****The next regular posting of Chroma will be in two days. This chapter is a little sideways meandering and does not involve Stephanie or Ranger. It is possible to skip this chapter and continue the story with the next posting without missing any major plot points. As always, I use them for fun and not for profit.**_

A/N:The girls are split apart. Chroma's at a safe house. Stephanie is with Ranger, and since the story is written from Stephanie's point of view we will all know what happens with them. I've got a good idea of what's happening with Tank and Lula, so playing a little Peeping Tom with them might be shocking, but probably not too surprising. I can't help wondering though, what will happen when the ultimate housewife and soccer mom spends time alone with Lester Santos. Let's go take a peek.

**Lester's (love)Shack**

Lester Santos looked around the room and liked what he saw. The décor was casual with an inviting comfort, and it was spotlessly clean. Valerie Kloughn was a wife and a stay-at-home mom and from all appearances, she had her world nicely ordered. He sat on the sofa and rested his feet on the plush ottoman. With hands clasped behind his head, he settled in to wait.

He made the offer to take Valerie off the grid sincerely. Ranger had been momentarily surprised, but immediately saw the benefit. The boss man had given Lester an out though, reminding him there was no need to compromise his privacy. No one, except his mom, Ranger, and his hired hand had ever been to the farm and he'd mostly planned on keeping it that way. The need to protect Valerie was legit and this way he could have an extra couple of days to take care of some chores that needed doing. It was a good solution to more than one problem.

Lester knew Ranger wasn't expecting him to make the offer. He knew Ranger wouldn't have offered if the situation were reversed. The people close to him knew of the farm's existence, which was more than he could say for Ranger's place. No one, not even Tank, had been inside the place Stephanie called the Batcave. He'd been shocked to realize Stephanie even knew of its existence. After he'd heard Stephanie refer to it as the Batcave, Lester jokingly referred to the farm as his Fortress of Solitude. His solitude was going to be broken this weekend, but it was for a good cause, and he hoped it would have a good result.

There were muted sounds coming from the back of the house. Lester glanced at his watch. He'd told Valerie to be quick, but they had a little extra time. As soon as she got a bag packed they'd head to RangeMan where he'd trade the fleet vehicle for his truck, grab some supplies, and then they'd be on their way.

Yep, it was a win-win situation. His place needed a woman's touch and he was thinking Valerie Kloughn, wife and mother of four, was just the woman to do it. He didn't want his mom poking around his place, although she was willing, and he didn't want any of his current women getting homemaker ideas. Valerie was going to be hidden away for two or probably three days with nothing to do, so she would do what obviously came natural to her.

Lester realized some people might call him a chauvinist. But it was a fact, women were nest builders and, judging by the room he was presently occupying, Valerie was a nest builder extraordinaire. He'd been to Beautiful's place and, once again looking around, he thought maybe Valerie got Stephanie's share of the homemaking gene. So he'd spend the next few days keeping her safe from Lonnie and attending to some necessary outside chores, and Valerie would give the inside a good spring cleaning in return.

Oh, he'd never ask her, but he wouldn't have to. The Santos charm was legendary and no woman was immune. He had full confidence in his abilities. He loved women of all shapes, ages and sizes. By the time they arrived at the farm, she'd be in his pocket. And if he knew women…he snorted. By tomorrow morning she'd be begging him to let her vacuum, dust, and organize. He'd be reluctant to use her, but he'd let her wear down his resistance, and by the time it was safe to bring her back to Trenton, his secret hideaway would be clean and in order.

He was drawn back into the present from his musings by Valerie's soft, "Mr. Santos?"

"Lester. Call me Lester."

"Okay, Lester. I think I'm ready. I wasn't sure what shoes to bring. You said it's in the country." He looked down at the brown loafers she was wearing. "I have these, if you think they'd be better." She held out a pair of Nikes for his inspection.

"Well, you'll mostly be inside, but I think the Nikes would be a better choice," he told her. He smiled. She was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a yellow blouse. She was a typical soccer mom. She kicked off the loafers and slipped her feet into the Nikes. She turned, bent to tie the cross-trainers and picked up her discarded loafers. The jeans stretched tautly over a nicely rounded butt. She was a soccer mom, alrightwith a killer ass. The thought, followed by an unusual feeling that might have been guilt, made him wipe the image from his mind. She was married and a mom on top of that. Her ass was off limits to him, even if he was only looking.

They made the trip from the Kloughn home to RangeMan in silence. Lester was trying not to notice the way her blouse clung to her breasts. Ever since he'd gotten a good look at her ass he'd began to see her as a woman and not his friend's married sister. It had to stop, or it would be a long and uncomfortable few days. He shifted in the seat. As they pulled into the RangeMan garage he turned to her.

"Where are Albert and the girls?" he asked. "I thought Albert might be worried about you going off with another man, even if it is necessary."

"Oh, I didn't tell him," she said. "He's keeping the girls at his mother's house for a long weekend. They'll come home after school on Monday. Do you think I'll be back home by then?"

"You should be," Lester said. "Don't you think it's a little risky, not telling him? He might get the wrong idea, you going off with a man."

"No, he won't. When I talked to him today he told me the papers had been delivered to his office. It's official. We're divorced and I'm free woman."

"What!"

Valerie turned to look at Lester and he quickly tried to hide the surprise he was sure was showing on his face.

"We decided it wasn't working out," she told him.

"It was sort of a mutual thing. Albert had a crush on me, but I think it went away after Lisa was born. This last baby was an accident. We probably would have split up before now, but we decided to give it another chance…because of the baby."

"You have four children and you are going to raise them on your own? Wow."

"It's no big deal," Valerie said. "Albert is a great dad, even to my older daughters. He's just not cut out to be a husband...at least not a husband to me. He plans on being very involved in the girls' lives because he loves them."

Lester let her words sink in as he set the parking brake on the SUV. He turned to Valerie. "I need to go upstairs and check in briefly and pick up some supplies. Do you want to come up or wait here? You're safe anywhere inside this complex."

"I'll just wait here, but honestly, Lester, I think I'm safe anywhere. I don't think Lonnie is a threat at all."

"Lonnie isn't a threat," Lester agreed. "He's in custody, but his buddies are loyal, and Lonnie seemed like he knew you pretty well, and maybe you're not his favorite person."

"He was my prom date, and he was a dud. The most fun I had at prom was when I snuck off and let Joe Morelli kiss me behind the gym. Unlike my sister, I was smart enough to realize what kind of trouble the Morelli boys were, so I didn't stick around for more than a kiss."

"Was that because you were smart, or because Lonnie caught you?"

"Well…" she grinned and Lester found himself grinning back.

"Okay, Val, sit tight and I'll be back in a flash."

Lester was true to his word and a few minutes later when they were comfortably settled in his truck he turned to her. "Do you want something to drink? A cup of coffee or maybe a soda? It's about a forty-five minute trip."

"No, I'm okay," she said, "I've had my daily allotment of calories and I'm trying to cut back on caffeine. Chroma says…"

"Chroma?" Lester interrupted. "You know Chroma?"

"Sure. That's why we were watching the distraction tonight. Chroma is my personal trainer, and Lula's. We wanted to see how she did on her first RangeMan assignment."

Lester was quiet while he digested this information. A personal trainer. It made sense. Valerie was going to be reentering the single life and she was using a personal trainer to get back in shape. It was working. She wasn't rail thin, but she had a nice shape, being curvy in all the right places. She looked good. Sometimes it was nice to have something to hold onto.

"So, you dating someone that might be worried if you disappear for a few days?" Lester asked.

"Well, no!" She huffed out a breath and rolled her eyes, and Lester saw a resemblance to her sister. "I've only been divorced a few hours. I don't think I'm a prime candidate for dating anyway. After Steve left me-he was my first husband-I tried dating and it didn't work out very well. And I only had two kids back then. It would take a special guy to want to take on four girls."

It _would_ take a special person, Lester thought. A woman with four girls was a big commitment. He told himself to keep thinking that, and that should keep his libido under control for the duration of the job.

"…and the lesbian thing just didn't work out well." Lester jerked his attention back to Valerie.

"What lesbian thing?" he asked.

"After Steve. When your husband steals all your money and runs off with the babysitter it tends to put you off men. No offense."

"None taken," Lester said. He could see that it might put her off men.

"So I decided to become a lesbian, but it didn't work out very well. I only had the one date, and lesbian or not, I won't do that…you know, on a first date. I did let her kiss me good night. She frenched me and it was okay, but I think I like men better."

Lester lowered the window an inch. He needed some fresh air.

"Have you ever tried to be a homosexual, Lester?"

"Uh…no." He was silent for a while. Valerie must have spent her casual conversation because she was quiet, too. He glanced surreptitiously across the cab of the truck. His mind went straight to the image of those soft, plump lips on another woman's mouth. He rolled the window down a little lower.

He called the place a farm, but in reality it was small, just twenty acres. There was a house, which needed work, and a barn and shed that was in better shape than the house. It had a state of the art security system he and Ranger had installed, and he knew Valerie would be safe there. The night was dark, with clouds that obscured the moonlight, and although he was sure no one, especially Lonnie's cohorts, would be lying in wait for them, he was careful as he escorted Valerie from the truck into the house. He set the alarm and checked in with RangeMan.

When he turned to look at Valerie, standing just inside the door, he noticed she was pale and wide-eyed. The situation had finally sunk in with her, and he thought she might be a little afraid. He learned quickly enough, it wasn't fear, but dismay he saw in her eyes.

"You'll be safe here," he told her. "I know it's a little rustic, but we won't be here more than a couple of days."

"It's not rustic," she said. "It's a dump."

Lester looked around the room and tried to see it with objective eyes. The furniture was western style with a matching loveseat and sofa. The arms were made to look like wagon wheels and the well-broken in cushions were brown plaid. There was a braided rug on the floor in front of the sofa. He'd been meaning to run a vacuum over it. The walls were knotty pine and they could use a good coat of lemon oil. But that was the genius of the plan to protect Valerie. He was sure she'd want to help him out.

The one redeeming feature of the room was a native-stone fireplace that was in good working order, and the last time he'd been there he'd spent an entire morning splitting firewood. He'd start a fire and the place would maybe be a little more welcoming to Valerie.

"I'll show you around," he told her, "and then I'll start a fire while you unpack." The tour didn't take long. Valerie followed Lester around as he showed her the simple layout. There was one furnished bedroom and one empty one with a bathroom in between. The bed in the furnished bedroom took up almost all the floor space. It was huge and unmade with naked pillows scattered on top.

The kitchen was every bit as rustic as the living room, with the same knotty pine paneling covering the walls. She came to a standstill in front of the one improvement Lester had made. He grinned as he saw her approving look.

"It's fabulous, isn't it?" Lester said as he opened the door of a large stainless steel Artic refrigerator.

Valerie looked inside at the mostly empty shelves. "Well, it would be better if there was some food inside it."

"Not to worry," Lester told her. "That's part of the reason I ran inside RangeMan. Ella, Ranger's housekeeper, made a care package for us. I'll put the food away shortly. She also gave me sheets to make the bed."

"Uh, speaking of the bed," Valerie said, "I noticed there is only one."

"Is that a problem for you?" Lester asked. When he saw the slight stain of color on her cheeks he relented. "I'm teasing. There is an inflatable bed in the closet of the other bedroom. I'll blow it up later and sleep in there."

"How disappointing." Lester's eyes widened at her remark. "I'm teasing," she said and laughed. Lester joined her in the laughter and decided there might be more to Valerie than the soccer mom he'd originally supposed.

A half hour later, Lester had the provisions stored in the kitchen and a fire burning on the hearth. Valerie was in his bedroom, making the bed, he supposed. He would have offered to help her, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. He went instead into the spare bedroom and pulled the inflatable bed out of the closet. He spread it out on the floor and plugged in the pump, making sure the connection was tight. When he saw the bed was starting to inflate he turned from the room and stopped cold in the doorway.

Valerie was sitting on the sofa, wearing a silky red nightgown. She was completely covered, but the fabric folded invitingly over her curves. Her feet were tucked up under her, and she was focused entirely on the book she was holding in her lap. She was oblivious to his presence, and he was as far from oblivious of her as he could be. Her blonde hair was short and showed the long, graceful curve of her neck. Her skin was pale and flawless, and his imagination continued with his perusal of the skin below the neckline of her gown. He made a sound that might have been a sigh or a whimper, and Valerie looked up from her reading.

"I know it's late," she said. "But I'm too wound up to sleep. I thought maybe if I read for a while it might take my mind off the last few hours."

"That's fine," Lester said. "Would you like something to drink? Maybe that would help relax you. I have some wine, or beer, or maybe hot chocolate."

Valerie thought for a moment before answering. "I think some wine would be nice. I don't have to worry about getting up in the middle of the night with the baby tonight. It might be fun to drink a little wine." Lester thought it could be quite a bit of fun if they both drank wine, but he knew he couldn't let things go in that direction, even if she was interested. And to be fair, she'd given him no indication she was interested. He thought he could probably change that, but this wasn't the time to try. If only his body would get the message.

He went to the kitchen and found the bottle of wine Ella had so thoughtfully included. It was a red, which was good as he hadn't thought to refrigerate it earlier. He could get away with serving a red at room temperature. There were no wineglasses in his cupboard. He found two matching plastic tumblers with a "Shorty's Pizza" logo on the side. He filled both halfway and took them into the living room. Valerie's head was once again bent over her book. She seemed totally absorbed by it.

"What are you reading?" he asked as he handed her the cup of wine. She looked nearsightedly up from the book and smiled when she saw the cup.

"It's called _Virgins for the Queen_. It's a regency romance about a queen who can't achieve, uh…satisfaction, unless the man she is with is a virgin. It's really sad, because she can't develop a relationship. She has to have new lovers all the time."

Lester snorted. "It's fiction."

"Well yes, it is."

"No, I mean it's fiction, because it's not possible to get satisfaction from an inexperienced man…well, at least not as much satisfaction as you can get from a man that knows his way around a woman's body."

"You think so?"

"I know so." Lester briefly considered the advisably of continuing the conversation, but he felt he was an expert on the subject so he went on. "Lovemaking is part passion, and part skill. If you haven't got the passion you're in trouble, but if you haven't got the skill-you've got to acquire it. It's just like playing the piano. You have to practice every day to get good."

Valerie's eyes widened. "Every day?"

"Well…" The gunshot was loud and reverberated around the small room. Lester acted instinctively and in less than a second had Valerie on the floor beneath him, protecting her with his body. His gun was in his hand and he was still, listening, waiting. How the fuck had someone breached his security? The hissing sound penetrated his brain and he knew, with a sinking feeling, what it was. "Stay here," he said to Valerie, rolling off her and making his way to the spare bedroom. He took precautions, in case he was wrong, but he knew he wasn't. He looked through the door.

"Shit!"

The shut-off valve on the pump had malfunctioned and his air bed had inflated and popped like an overfilled balloon. "It's alright, Val," he said. "We're not in any danger." He turned back to the living room and saw Valerie Kloughn struggling to get off the floor where he'd none too gently thrown her. Her red nightgown was stained with spilled wine and it clung to her breasts. Her erect nipples were outlined clearly against the wet fabric, and they were homing beacons for his eyes.

She stood and pulled the wet fabric from her body, and his wet t-shirt dream was obliterated. With an effort he drew himself back into the present.

"My air bed exploded," he told her. He walked into the bedroom and pulled the plug on the overheated electric pump.

"Oh, dear," he heard Valerie exclaim. She was standing beside him looking at the deflating bed with a large hole in one end. "You can't sleep on that. You'll have to share the big bed, in my room."

"Nah, I'll just sleep on the floor."

"Don't be silly. It's a big bed. We're adults. You stay on your side and I'll stay on mine, and we won't even know each other's there."

"Well," Lester mumbled.

"Really, Lester, I insist. And I'll feel much safer knowing you are close to me." She was right, he realized. It was a big bed, and he would be able to keep her safe if he was close.

"And Lester, you wouldn't have an old t-shirt I could sleep in, would you? This is the only nightgown I brought."

"Sure, Val, I'll find you something."

Later, when they were both in the big bed, Lester thought Valerie Kloughn was a nice lady. Maybe one he could really be friends with. She was safely ensconced on her side of the bed, and there was at least a two foot gap between them. She'd looked cute, but hardly sexy, in the RangeMan t-shirt he'd found for her. It was so big and baggy on her it hung almost to her knees.

He was tired, and he felt himself relax between the incredibly soft sheets Ella had provided. He smelled a faint whiff of lavender, and he didn't know if it was coming from the sheets or from Valerie, but he found it calming. The distant rumble of thunder increased his lethargy and he rolled over and slipped into a peaceful sleep.

Lester awoke suddenly with complete awareness of the situation, but he didn't move. The room was still in partial darkness, but not from the earliness of the hour. He could hear the rain on the roof and knew the day was destined to be overcast. Sometime during the night he'd shifted, but so had Valerie and they'd somehow met in the middle. He was achingly hard and his cock was pushed snugly against Valerie's backside. His arm was wrapped around her and he could feel the soft underside of her full breasts. There was a layer of t-shirt between them and his forearm, but he could fix that easily enough.

He wanted, oh to hell with what he wanted. He couldn't. Valerie was a client and he was a professional. There were certain behaviors a professional couldn't engage in. Well, he could engage in them, but it would be against RangeMan policy. He didn't want to think about the fate that would await him if Ranger found out. Hell, if Stephanie found out! Experimentally, he pushed his pelvis forward, just a little. He nestled himself in the cleft of her fabulous ass and pondered his next move. How far could he go without waking her?

The lock in the front door clicked and he heard the door swing open. "Boss?" a gravelly voice called. There were steps clomping across the living room and in mere seconds a shadow covered the open doorway. Shit. Shit. Shit. Valerie half-sat and looked confusedly toward the doorway and the man standing in it.

"Sorry, boss. When I seen your truck in the drive I came in to see why you were here. I didn't know you was entertainin'."

"I'm not entertaining!" Lester said, frustration evident in his voice.

Valerie turned and looked over her shoulder at him. It was evident from the clarity of her gaze, she hadn't just been awakened. "On the contrary, Mr. Santos," she said quietly. "You're very entertaining." She threw back the covers and slid out of bed, making her way across the room. Lester watched as she moved unselfconsciously in the oversized t-shirt, in his oversized t-shirt. She held out her hand to the man. "Hi, I'm Valerie."

"Oat, ma'am. Oat Olsen. I'm the hired man. I'm sorry to interrupt y'all. I'll just git on down to the barn and start muckin' out." He turned and left as quickly as he'd come.

Valerie turned and fixed her eyes on Lester. "What kind of security do you have here? That man just walked in."

"That's because he is here every day. And don't let his old geezer attitude fool you. He knows what he's about. He's ex-Special Forces."

"That little old man?" Valerie asked.

"Yeah, a long time ago. In Nam. Life since hasn't been real kind to him, but he's a good farm hand. He's here every day. I only get out here a couple of times a month. Oat keeps things going for me." Lester stopped talking to take a good look at the morning version of Valerie. It resembled the night time version closely. Her hair was still spiky and her curves were still visible, even underneath the loose t-shirt. Suddenly, he grinned, seeing the humor of the situation. "You probably gave ole Oat the thrill of his recent life when you threw back the covers and got out of bed. I don't imagine he's seen anything as pretty as you climb out of a bed before."

Valerie didn't smile at all. "You think I'm pretty?" she asked. The atmosphere in the room changed, and Lester lost his smile. While it was always possible the rain shower was getting ready to turn into a thunderstorm, he knew that wasn't the cause of the electricity he felt.

"I do think you're pretty. I think you're…very attractive." The covers shifted slightly and Lester felt his morning problem growing more serious. "I'd better get down to the barn and help Oat. You can use the bathroom first, if you want."

Valerie took pity on him and pulled some clothes out of her bag. She left him in privacy to get out of bed with his shorts tented like he was a horny middle-schooler.

When she came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, Lester was dressed and waiting for her. "I'm going to go down and help Oat with the horses," he told her.

"Can I come, too?"

Lester hesitated. He really needed some separation from Valerie, but there was another reason he wanted her to stay in the house as well. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small oval electronic fob. There was a red button in the center. "This is a panic button," he said. "I'd like you to stay in the house. The chance of someone finding you out here is slim, but I don't want to risk your safety. Keep this panic button in your pocket and push it if you need me. I won't be gone long in any case, but I'm going to turn the horses out for a bit in the near pasture. It's just drizzling now, and they'll appreciate the exercise."

Valerie accepted his explanation without question and he left to help Oat. For once, he'd take pleasure in mucking out stalls. The physical release would be helpful in making it through the rest of the day. Lester made it about halfway to the barn when the rain changed from drizzle to downpour. There went the plan to exercise the horses. He walked into the barn determined to spend at least an hour away from Valerie. Maybe she'd mop the kitchen floor or do some dusting, to keep herself from getting bored.

An hour later he was back in the house, after Oat had complained about his being in the way. He sniffed at a chemical smell and a wide grin split his face. Valerie must be cleaning. His glance took in the empty living room and the empty kitchen. She'd started in the bedroom, then. His mood took a distinct upturn. "Val, I'm back," he called out needlessly. She would have heard him, of course.

"I'm in here," she called from the bedroom. "And I could use your help." He found her sitting on the bed with her jeans cuffed up and cotton balls separating her toes. "I just painted my fingernails and they're still wet. Would you put a coat on my toes?"

"I, ah, I really don't know if I…"

"Oh come on, Lester. It's not rocket-science."

Grudgingly he made his way to the bed, only mildly disappointed to find the smell was not from cleaning products. He sat down and slid his hand under her leg, balanced her foot on his thigh and picked up the polish. It was not his first time polishing a woman's toes, but he didn't tell Valerie that. He remembered how that incident had ended, and he really didn't want to think about a situation like that with Valerie.

He left the bedroom while her toes dried and stalked across the living room. He threw himself down on the sofa with such force the wagon-wheel arms creaked. A loud clap of thunder heralded the onslaught of heavy rain and he got up and walked to the window. The rain was coming down so hard his view of the drive was limited, but he could see enough to see Oat's beat up old pick-up truck turn from the drive and head home down the county road. Great, they were really alone now.

He turned from the window to see Valerie standing on her heels, toes still separated by white cotton balls. She was frowning, "Lester, you've tracked water and mud all over the place. Do you have a mop?" His mood brightened immediately. She was going to clean.

He gave her his best smile. "I think I do have a mop."

"Well, get it and mop the floor up. I can't put my shoes on until the polish dries, and I don't want to wade bare-footed through that mess." She waved her hand to indicate the path of muddy footprints criss-crossing the floor.

He walked across the room and grabbed her around the waist. He lifted her from the floor and swung her across the small room where he deposited her on the sofa. _Virgins for the Queen _was lying on the end table, and he wordlessly picked it up and tossed it into her lap. And then he went to find the damn mop.

An hour later, Valerie finished her book. She went in search of her shoes and then went to the kitchen and made herself a sandwich. Lester watched her eat it before it occurred to him that if he wanted lunch he was going to have to make his own sandwich.

The minutes ticked by like hours, and the rain was unrelenting. In mid-afternoon he made another trip to the barn. He'd planned on doing some outside carpentry work, but all that had to be postponed. He sat and stared at the rain from the open doorway as his mind rolled out one fantasy after another, and Valerie was central in them all. Finally he made his way back to the cabin.

This time when he opened the door his nose detected another aroma, but this wasn't nail polish. It was food. Valerie looked around the corner from the kitchen.

"Good, you're back. I'm heating up some of the food Ella sent and look what I found." There were several puzzle boxes stacked in the center of the table. "You should have told me you had puzzles. I love to put them together."

"I don't have puzzles," Lester said. "Where'd you find them?"

"They were on a shelf in the closet."

Lester took a good look at the boxes. They were in good shape, but he thought they looked old. "Huhn," he said. "They must have been left by the previous owner. We'll put one together after supper." He was rewarded by a smile from Valerie, and he felt better knowing they actually had an activity they could engage in. It would help pass time before bed…something he shouldn't think about.

They shared a meal of beef stroganoff and finished the wine. The conversation flowed easily and Lester found himself relaxing. Outside the rain continued, but he didn't feel as claustrophobic as he had earlier in the day. He found himself telling Valerie a little about his time in the Army and how he came to work at RangeMan. He didn't usually talk about himself, but she was a good listener.

He was a good listener, too. He listened to the story of Steve, the rat bastard, who'd abandoned Valerie across the country from her family, with no cash and a mountain of unpaid bills. He listened to how she and Albert had realized they married in haste and had decided to take steps to end the marriage. He even found himself admiring ole Albert and his determination to stay involved in the children's lives.

They picked a puzzle with a thousand pieces. A pirate ship on a storm-tossed ocean. They worked well together and they both laughed when Valerie reached across the table for a puzzle piece and rearranged some of the assembled puzzle with her boob. As the puzzle grew closer to completion, Lester felt a certain tension begin to rise. They'd managed to have an enjoyable evening, but going to bed and sleeping with her was going to be more of a test tonight than it had been last night. He remembered the feel of her round ass pressed tightly against him. The thought made him shift uncomfortably in his seat.

Valerie leaned back in her chair and stretched as they began to disassemble the puzzle. "This place has potential. You should make some improvements, or at least get Merry Maids in here."

"I don't invite anyone here," Lester replied. "You are the only visitor I've had and frankly, you wouldn't be here if there'd been a better option." His voice had sounded terse, even to him. The tension in his gut and the semi-erection he'd been sporting all evening had made him speak out more brusquely than he'd intended. He glanced up from putting puzzle pieces back in the box and saw the hurt in her eyes. Shit.

She turned from him. "I'm going to go to bed. I'll leave you to your own company."

"Valerie, wait." She turned back and he saw her hopeful expression.

"I'm sorry." He ran a hand over his hair. "I've enjoyed today. I'm not implying you are unwelcome." He realized with a jolt of surprise, it was true. The house wasn't clean, but he didn't really care. He hadn't finished a single chore, and he'd spent the majority of the day trying not to bump into Valerie. Trying to forget the feel of the soft curve of the underside of her breast. Trying not to imagine his tongue skimming along the indentation above her collarbone. He turned away this time, before his increasing hard-on became evident to her.

"I'm going outside to check the perimeter. Do you have your panic button?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Push it if you need me. I won't be outside long."

"Okay, goodnight."

"Night, Val."

He closed the front door behind him and pulled his jacket around him. He needed fresh air even if it was wet, and he needed some space from Valerie. There was no cause to check the perimeter. It was fenced and alarmed and major access points were video surveilled by RangeMan, although the client name was bogus. Ranger had helped him protect his privacy.

The night was cool, almost cold. Early spring was feeling more like late fall. He shivered despite the water and windproof RangeMan jacket he wore. He wished he had a cigarette. He'd given up the habit about the time he'd come to work for Ranger and for the most part he did fine. He wanted a drink. A shot of something stiff, but he knew more alcohol would lessen his resolve and that couldn't happen.

When was the damn rain going to quit? He'd checked the radar earlier, and it didn't look like any time soon. On impulse he pulled out his phone and dialed Ranger.

Ranger's greeting was terse. "Trouble?"

"No." At least not the kind Ranger was referring to, and not the kind he could discuss with Ranger, either. "I just wanted a status update."

"No change," Ranger said. "Lonnie's thugs made an unsuccessful attempt on Stephanie tonight. I doubt they'll move on any of the other women, but the fact remains, these women were endangered during a RangeMan operation and it's our duty to keep them from harm's way. Vince and Hal are scheduled to hand over Lonnie to the Feds on Sunday at 0800 and you'll be notified to bring Valerie back in at that time."

"Sunday?" Lester's stomach did an uncomfortable flip-flop. He'd have to spend tonight, all day tomorrow and tomorrow night in the small cabin with Valerie Kloughn. It was going to be an uncomfortable weekend.

"Sunday," Ranger affirmed. "Is that a problem?"

"No. It's just that it's raining and…"

"I know it's raining. Right now I'm standing in a big puddle in the alley behind the Uhlman building, covering your shift."

"Well, uh," Lester stammered. "Thanks."

"No need to thank me. You're on the job as well, and I know I don't have to worry about Valerie as long as she is with you."

"Sure, boss. No problem here." They disconnected simultaneously, neither man bothering to say good-bye.

The light in the bedroom went on and thin beams spilled around the edges of the window shade onto the porch. Lester glanced over and saw the silhouette of Valerie. He stood mesmerized while he watched her shrug something over her head. Realization dawned. It was his t-shirt. She was wearing his t-shirt to bed again. For some reason that bothered him more than the thought of the ridiculous red nightgown.

He zipped his jacket high under his chin, pulled the hood up and felt in his outer pocket to assure himself his phone and the alarm remote were in place. He jumped from the low porch, and then he ran across the yard and down to the barn, where he made a cursory check of the horses. Oat, as usual, had left everything well attended.

From the barn he continued his run across dark pastures, unmindful of the uneven terrain, until at last he reached the back boundary of his property. Pausing only a moment to catch his breath, he turned and retraced his steps.

The house was dark when he entered it, and he went straight to the small bathroom. He pulled off his jacket and peeled his rain soaked sweats from his body and left them in a pile on the floor. It usually took a few seconds for the water to warm up, but it was of no consequence tonight because he turned the cold water on full tilt. He stood under the spray past the point of shriveled fingers and shriveled balls. When he was sufficiently numb he stepped out with the satisfaction of knowing he would sleep well that night. His fear of losing control with Valerie had been temporarily allayed. He'd made it through the day, and they only had one night, one more day and another night to go. Hell, he hoped it didn't rain tomorrow.

Minutes later he slid between the soft sheets and was careful to stay close to the edge. He could hear the rhythmic sounds of her breath, and he could smell the faint lavender scent of her. And he heard an irregular, indistinct clicking sound. It took him a minute or more to realize what he was hearing, and realization made his temper flare.

He pushed back the covers and stood, his anger magnifying irrationally. He reached out in the darkness and found the cord to the overhead light. He yanked it with unnecessary force, and saw immediately he'd been correct. He _did_ know what the noise was. It was a particular noise he associated with his mother and grandmother, and his temper rose a notch higher.

Valerie looked up at him with squinted eyes, unadjusted to the sudden brightness. She raised a hand to shield her vision, and the offending noise-maker swung from her fingers.

"I knew it!" he roared. "You have the nerve to lie there in my bed clacking your Rosary beads. I've been a perfect gentleman the entire time you've been here. My behavior has been exemplary. I didn't make a move on you. I didn't leer, even when you wore a red nightgown." He winced slightly at his lie, but Valerie seemed to take no notice.

He told himself to shut up, but his feelings were hurt. He'd done nothing to make her afraid of him. "I have given you no cause for concern," he said. "And yet here you are, like some simpering virgin, in my bed, praying for your safety."

Lester was so incensed and absorbed in his ranting that he didn't notice at first that Valerie had exited her side of the bed. When he stopped for breath he realized she was standing across the bed staring at him, and what he saw in her eyes scared the shit out of him. It wasn't anger, and it wasn't fear. It was desire and he recognized that look with no doubt.

"Lester, I'm not praying for my safety," she told him. "I'm praying for yours. I don't want to take advantage of you, but…" She looked directly at the low slung shorts he'd donned for bed. "You're making it darned hard."

She leaned forward and put one knee on the mattress. He tried not to notice the way his shirt slid up her thigh. Suddenly, she was kneeling on her side of the bed, and he was sure she was coming for him!

"Valerie, we can't."

"Why not? We're both single and consenting."

"We can't. I'm on duty. I have to protect you."

"I agree, and I have condoms in my purse. They're good protection."

"No…I mean, yes. They are good protection, but I have to protect you…even from me. I can't make this situation personal. I'm being paid to keep you safe. I can't do it."

Was that whining voice his? When had she moved? She was kneeling in the center of the bed. He could reach out and touch her. He stepped back and came up against the wall of the small bedroom. "I can't do it," he repeated. There was a lump in his throat, and it was getting hard to get words out. That wasn't all that was getting hard. He was in trouble and he knew it.

"Valerie, please. Ranger will kill me!"

She smiled and crossed her arms. In one quick movement she grasped the hem of the shirt and pulled it over her head. Her voice was low and seductive, and there was no longer a soccer mom in the house.

"Lester, prepare to die…"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Work Search

My butt slid into the office chair at 7:59 a.m. and momentum rolled me to the front of the desk. I came to an abrupt stop as my casted hand knocked the wireless keyboard off the desk. As it landed with a thump, a dislodged key skittered across the floor, and the other employees seated around me turned to stare. One by one, I made eye contact and smiled at them. I knew them all slightly. They were, in most instances, the newer RangeMan employees, who were stuck on desk duty for a few weeks until they earned their way into a field position, and they were all men. That fact made me remember Ranger's desire to hire Chroma. Would she be consigned to desk duty initially, or would she be placed directly in the field?

The question was one I couldn't answer and didn't want to consider. I looked at the key in my hand and rolled my eyes as I snapped it back in place on the keyboard. It was the escape key and the irony did not escape me. I was stuck here until my hand healed, so there was no escape. Oh, I was happy my bills would be getting paid, but I wouldn't be making Vinnie happy, and I had opened the door for Ranger to hire a woman who could replace me for any future RangeMan field work that might have come my way. I scowled at the cast on my hand and forearm. Damn that philandering Joe Morelli and his unknown blonde "Baby."

Apparently, Rodriguez was an early starter. There were several file folders on the desk with yellow sticky notes attached. The notes all had my name on them and detailed briefly the priority various searches should be given. I sighed, and logged on only to find out my password was expired. I pushed my chair back and blew out my breath in a small fit of exasperation. I could have emailed Silvio in the Miami office, but it was easier to find Tank. I knew he could unlock my frozen access and I would be able to get started sooner.

Tank's office was dark. The 0800 starting time must not hold true for the inner circle, just the desk jockeys. I swung around to head back to my desk and stopped abruptly as Ranger's door opened and he stepped into the hall. He was dressed in his typical uniform of all black and he was checking the watch on his wrist as he looked up and saw me.

"I was on time," I said, "but I can't do any work until I get my password reset. Where's Tank?"

"Tank is working for Vinnie today, in place of you." Ranger said. "You'll have to call Silvio. We've had an operating system upgrade since you were here last. Everything will have to be reset for you." If Tank was working for Vinnie he'd have Lula riding shotgun with him. She was in protective custody as well. At least she'd be having a good day.

"Well, that's great," I muttered. "I'll be sitting around half the morning waiting for that to happen, and I've already got a stack of work to do."

Ranger stared at me. Something about the tilt of his head and the intensity of his gaze made me wish I could read minds, or at least his mind. I wanted to ask him how I'd fallen asleep naked and awakened wearing his t-shirt. I was just screwing up my courage to ask what was going on between us when he shrugged his shoulders and turned toward my work station. I'd just seen the Ranger version of an eye-roll. I knew he wanted to say something, but had decided against it and I was curious. I followed him to my desk.

He leaned down, his lips almost brushing my ears as he spoke low, clearly making it obvious he didn't want to be overheard by those around us. "I'll be in the field all day today, so I'll log in and request a new password and user profile for you from Silvio. In the meantime you can use my login to do your work." I watched as he sat in the chair and began typing. His login was camanoso. And his password was 1serena. I frowned. Who was Serena and why was she #1?

He looked up and caught my frown, which caused a rare full on smile. "Don't worry about remembering it, Babe. I change it every day and by tomorrow you'll have your own user profile, login and password…and your searches today will be monitored." That last was a warning to me to stay on track and attend to business, but it didn't work. Of course my searches would be monitored, but no one would know I was the brains behind the keyboard. Today seemed more interesting already. I was going to have Ranger's clearance and although I didn't have a clue as to how I'd make use of it, I was sure I could figure something out.

Ranger looked around me and across the room. I followed his gaze and saw Chroma walk through the stairway door. She was dressed in black slacks and a black RangeMan t-shirt that fit her like a second skin. There was a utility belt slung low around her slim hips that was filled with necessary equipment for a RangeMan operative. Yep, Chroma was starting out in the field. No desk duty for her. My eyes slipped to the wall clock above the door. She was five minutes late, but neither she nor Ranger gave any indication that it was a problem.

Ranger stood from my desk. "I'm going to be training Chroma today," he told me. I'll be back about five and I'll take you to your apartment to get some clothes and to keep Rex from dying of starvation."

"Thanks," I said. I don't think he even heard the sarcasm in my voice. He was focused on Chroma, and I can't say I blamed him. I got a funny little feeling in the back of my throat when I realized the t-shirt she was wearing was probably one Ella had embroidered for me. Chroma was at least a cup size bigger than me and taller besides. The shirt showed a thin strip of skin between its hem and the waist of her black cargos. She looked totally hot.

The smile she gave Ranger was wide and guileless and full of enthusiasm. She shared it with him for a moment and then turned it on me as she approached my workstation.

"Good morning, Stephanie," she said. "I'm glad to see you are going to be able to work with your injury."

I smiled back at her. I don't know where the resentment I felt was coming from. It certainly wasn't her fault she was a gorgeous, potentially deadly killing machine and working for RangeMan. If any blame had to be placed I could trace it all the way back to Joe. He was the one responsible for the mess I was in.

"I want to thank you, Stephanie, for your suggestion for Ranger to hire me."

"No problem." I decided I didn't resent her, but I did resent Joe and maybe Ranger, too. Chroma was the only woman involved in the fiasco last night that didn't have to have a baby-sitter and that was all Ranger's doing.

"I had a quiet night," I said, shifting my eyes toward Ranger and then back to Chroma. "Did you have a quiet night?" I saw Ranger's attention focus on Chroma. He was interested in the answer, too.

"Oh, yes," she said. "The RangeMan house was very secure and I had no difficulties. I don't think Lonnie has a clue as to who I am, in any case." She directed her next statement to Ranger. "I was down at the range with Woody this morning. I qualified, but I don't have the proper permits to carry concealed."

"No need for concealment," Ranger said. He reached out a hand and tugged gently on an empty slot in the utility belt at her hips. It was designed to be a holster and it was presently gunless. "Let's go get you properly dressed and then we can get on with the day." He came around me and placed his hand on Chroma's back. She turned and together they walked across the room and out the door she'd come in as Ranger explained to her they were short-staffed and he'd like to put her into the rotation as soon as possible. I stood watching until the pneumatic cylinder let the door click quietly closed.

I buried my disappointment of the lost opportunity to corner Ranger about what had happened the night before. Tonight, I would get an answer. I was logged in and ready to go and as I sat back down at my desk I tried to remember to be grateful for the work instead of resentful of the folders from Rodriguez. I tried not to be envious of Chroma, and I tried not to be jealous as I remembered his hand at the small of her back. It didn't work.

The morning passed quickly and no one was more surprised than I was. Doing searches wasn't my favorite pastime, even if I was making money in a safe secure environment. I logged out of the computer hoping I'd remember Ranger's credentials to log back in for the afternoon.

I took the stairs down to the lobby. There was a new Asian-Italian fusion restaurant a block over and I had a big craving for sweet and sour spaghetti. My good hand wrapped around the push bar on the door as I made an attempt to exit. Another larger hand covered mine and the door didn't budge. I looked up to see Howdy, one of my very favorite merry men.

Howdy was aptly named because he looked just like Howdy Doody on steroids. He had a pleasant expression with a nice sprinkling of freckles across his nose. His hair was bright red and stood out from his scalp in wild corkscrews.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," he said. "Ranger gave strict orders you are not to leave the building today." He looked worried and I figured he knew of a previous incident when Ranger had confined me to the building.

I looked outside and noticed it was raining. I didn't have an umbrella. I wasn't supposed to get my cast wet. I blew out a deep breath and gave up. Maybe it was the curly hair we shared, or maybe I was just getting soft, but I knew what was coming next if I tried to run so I decided to follow orders. "Okay," I said. "It's just that I was really hungry for sweet and sour spaghetti."

"Oh, Luigi Chan's," Howdy said, his expression brightening. "They deliver. How 'bout you go back up stairs to the break room and I'll call in an order, and…" He blushed. "Maybe we could eat together."

I smiled broadly. "That would be great, Howdy. I'd enjoy the company."

After lunch I returned to my desk to find another, much smaller stack of folders. I put in Ranger's password and log-in and held my breath. With relief I saw the home page for the search engine pop up. A little blinking icon in the upper left corner of the screen beckoned to me and I clicked on the 'return to last browsing session' button.

A screen popped open and I was staring at a face that looked familiar and told me this was not my prior browsing session. It was Ranger's browsing history, and how had this happened? He always deleted his browser history. Why had he left this up? Did he want me to find it? No, I knew that wasn't the case. I thought maybe I had interrupted him this morning, or maybe within the confines of RangeMan's top-notch search program he wasn't as diligent as he was on a personal computer. In the end it didn't matter, because I'd already seen the image and I couldn't un-see it.

I was staring at the face of a former RangeMan associate, Anatoly Abramov AKA Ant. Ant was one the first merry men Ranger had hired with whom he had not shared military service. He was a huge man, standing six feet four inches, at least. He had white blonde hair, and pale blue eyes that could freeze with a glance.

I'd only met him once or twice in passing and hadn't got to know him well. When he'd left to pursue other interests six months after hiring on, Ranger had understood, but had been disappointed. I had been relieved. I was friends with the entire inner circle at RangeMan. The guys for the most part treated me like a little sister, and while Ant had worked his way with seeming ease into the sometimes cliquish inner circle, he treated me with icy indifference. He was courteous, but I never fell into the easy bantering with him that I shared with the other men.

Now, looking at his face staring out at me from the computer screen I wondered why I hadn't seen it instantly. I was betting Ranger had. I was staring at an older, more chiseled, masculine version of Chroma. The differences were obvious, but the similarities couldn't be denied. They must be siblings. I might have thought them twins, but I remembered Ant as being near Ranger's age. That would make him several years Chroma's senior so I was looking at Chroma's big brother. I minimized the screen, rolled back in my chair and said to no one in particular, "What the hell?"

I traced Ranger's browser history, and found more information. Ant had left RangeMan to return to his homeland of Russia. He joined a mercenary group and was transported to Syria to fight in the civil war. That much I could tell for sure, but I was betting there was more to the story than that. Chroma had said she had worked as a mercenary in Eastern Europe. Was Syria in Eastern Europe?

I opened the search and began to type in Chroma's name, when I realized I didn't know her last name. Going on instinct I typed in Chroma Abramov and waited. Nothing. Possibly they didn't share the same last name. I was betting there was a personnel file on Ranger's desk. I weighed my options. I was so involved in planning my strategy to get in and out of Ranger's office unnoticed that I never saw the body attached to the arm. In my peripheral vision I saw a blunt-tipped male finger push a stack of file folders forward on my desk until they toppled sideways and hit the floor.

My concentration broken, I looked up but there was no one anywhere in sight, other than my coworkers who all seemed to be focused on their own tasks. I gathered the folders up and began to restack them when I realized I had just been visited by the mysterious Rodriguez. I thought about going in search of him, but my heart wasn't in it as I was still rolling over the possibilities of Chroma's past.

The folders in my hands represented enough work to keep me busy way past the end of the day, so with a sigh I gave them my attention. Ranger said he'd be back around five, and I began formulating my questions. He was going to give me the rest of the story. Of course, I would have to admit I'd been in his search programs, but—hey! It wasn't my fault. And then there was the really big question. How and why had I awakened with his shirt on?


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: I have made comments before regarding my need for, and appreciation of, my beta. This chapter benefited greatly from her work. I sent it to her, not completely satisfied, and she returned it, not completely satisfied...and with suggestions. I took her suggestions seriously, made changes and sent it back to her. And she beta'd it a second time. I am very grateful for her help, especially as she is busy writing her second original novel. Thank you **j****ago ji. **Check out her author profile for details. As always, I use them for fun and not for profit._

Chapter 9

Girls' Night In

The day was almost done, and I was totally done in. I couldn't look at the computer screen any longer and my casted hand ached. I thought Ranger would be by to take me to my apartment soon, but he would find me on seven. I needed some ibuprofen and I really needed a Tastykake, only one of which I would find on seven. My afternoon break had been spent in the employee lounge eating an orange, which had been good but didn't begin to satisfy me the way a small mass-produced, sugar and preservative-filled cake would. I pushed back my chair, stood and looked up to see Chroma approaching me. I felt like the business end of a wrung out mop after sitting in front of the computer for eight hours. She looked as fresh as she had this morning when she'd left to play RangeMan operative.

"Hi, Stephanie." She greeted me with a nice smile and I worked my mouth into the semblance of one as well. I don't know why I was in a bad mood. The day had gone pretty well as my desk was now empty. I'd thrown the completed folders into my out box and sometime during the afternoon they'd disappeared. Ranger was always telling me to be more aware of my surroundings, and he was right. I knew Rodriguez had probably been hovering around all day, but I hadn't seen him. If it wasn't for the frequent increases in my "to be done" pile, I'd doubt his existence.

"Hi," I responded. "How was your first day?"

"It was great. Ranger taught me so much. And the best part is I get to work the second shift, so I can still put in some time at the gym in the mornings. I don't want to give up my personal training, especially of Lula and Val."

"That's nice," I agreed, "I'm sure Lula and Val will be glad to hear that. And speaking of Ranger, he's supposed to be here to take me over to my place. I need to pick up clothes and feed my hamster, Rex. Did you just leave him?"

"Yes," she said. "I know you were expecting him, but Ranger asked me to stand in for him. He's covering a shift for Lester tonight, and our day ran so long, he didn't have time to come back here. I hope that's okay with you. I can keep you safe if Lonnie's guys show up."

I was momentarily speechless. Ranger was dumping me off on one of his employees and not just any employee, but his newest and only female associate. I had things to talk to Ranger about some of which he might be aware of, and just as many he wasn't. Chroma was looking at me, waiting for my response, a slight frown creasing her brow.

"Oh, sure," I said. "It's fine. I don't think there is much of a chance that Lonnie's lowlife friends will be looking for us in any case. I think the protective custody thing is totally unnecessary."

"I don't know," Chroma said. "Ranger said you and I together would probably be a pretty lethal combination, but he doesn't want me to travel back to the safe house alone tonight. Woody is going to drive me over and make sure everything is secure. Ranger likes to send his people out in pairs. I learned that today."

I was mollified a little by the thought that Ranger wasn't totally turning her loose on her own, so I acquiesced. We loaded ourselves into a RangeMan SUV and headed toward my apartment. I replayed her words in my mind. Ranger thought we were a pretty lethal combination. What he probably meant was Chroma was lethal and adding me to the mix wouldn't screw things up too badly. I had to admit she'd put on a good show the night before.

I hadn't been able to find anything on her during my search, but I'd found plenty on Ant, the man I was sure was her brother. He was a Russian ex-military mercenary. Most recently he'd been in Syria, which was not Eastern Europe. Chroma said she'd been a mercenary in Eastern Europe, so she was either lying, or she hadn't been working with her brother. I had random facts that I'd pieced together, but I didn't have enough to see the whole picture yet. I was betting Ranger knew the entire story and I was determined to talk to him. I wondered how long Lester's shift ran. I might be staying up late, but tonight I was going to find out the rest of the story.

"I'm not exactly sure where you live," Chroma said, breaking into my thoughts.

"You're on the right track," I said and then I gave her driving instructions to my apartment. It had been raining all day and it looked like the rain was going to continue for a while. The cloud cover made Trenton look especially gray in the light of early evening. It was the kind of night for curling up in front of the TV and watching a good movie, something I could do at RangeMan, but the thought of being forced to stay there wasn't resting easily on me. I dismissed the thought as my apartment building came into view and began to mentally prepare for what I'd need to take with me back to Ranger's.

Chroma backed the SUV with some difficulty into a parking space at the far corner of the lot. It gave me a small sense of satisfaction to note her parking woes. She seemed to do everything with such ease it was nice to know she hadn't quite got the SUV down cold yet.

"I won't be long," I told her. "You are welcome to come up while I pack." She nodded and we walked across the lot and into the building. I looked at the stairs and then over at the elevator where Mrs. Bestler was holding the door open, the alarm buzzing. I decided to give Chroma the full experience. She followed me as I stepped into the elevator. "Second floor, please," I said to Mrs. Bestler. She pushed the button and the door slid closed, silencing the alarm.

A few seconds later, the door opened and Mrs. Bestler's arm shot out stopping Chroma in her tracks.

"Second floor. Ladies intimates and better dresses." Her hand dropped and I nodded my head toward the hall. Chroma and I exited the elevator. I turned to her before she could question me. "It's sometimes easier just to play the game," I said and was pleased to see amusement in her eyes.

Chroma followed me through the apartment to the kitchen where, as Ranger had predicted, Rex was still alive, not having starved to death. I gave Rex some of the new hamster mix I'd purchased; it promised longevity and Rex was no spring hamster any longer. I threw in a grape for dessert, and then I went to the cupboard to get what I'd been craving all day. Tastykakes. There were two of them. I offered one to Chroma who frowned and shook her head, so I ate both.

We went to the bedroom where I pulled a small tote bag from the closet. I wasn't planning on staying longer than another day with Ranger. I thought the potential danger from Lonnie's goons would be diminished enough by then that I could return home. Chroma sat on the edge of the bed and watched me pack the tote bag.

"I was wondering," she began hesitantly, "will you be all right working for Ranger?"

My head came up and I stopped shoving my skinny jeans into the Vera Bradley bag. "What do you mean?" I asked, frowning.

She blushed and I was once again reminded of her innate shyness. It seemed to me to be at odds with the other aspects of her personality…the kick-ass martial arts expert who was willing to take her shirt off for money.

"What I meant," she said slowly, "is that Lula said something about you being in a tight financial fix if you couldn't do bond enforcement."

I wanted to say it was none of her business, but there was a true look of concern in her eyes. "I'll be fine." I said. "Ranger is, as you are about to find out, a generous employer. Doing searches is not my favorite thing, but it will pay the bills."

"That's good to know," she said. "I was just thinking that since you'd been so kind to recommend me to Ranger, there was, maybe, a way for me to return the favor."

"What kind of favor?" I asked.

She stood from the bed and walked toward me. Her hand came slowly to my shoulder and pushed my hair back. "You have a lovely neck. I'm sure you could work as a body parts model." I recoiled a little and she withdrew her hand. The idea of having my body parts on a billboard, even though it was anonymous, creeped me out a little. She spoke quickly now, "You wouldn't have to, well, you know, I think you have a graceful neckline, and they might be able to use other parts of your body as well, but you wouldn't have to, well, you wouldn't have to do any nude shots—but they do pay the best."

I didn't answer at once. I was wondering if my breast or neck was on a billboard in the Burg would my mother recognize me? Morelli? He didn't recognize me in a wig. I didn't think he'd recognize me on a billboard. I shook my head. "No, I don't think that would be for me, and I'll be just fine working for Ranger. I only need to have the cast on for three or four weeks and then I can wear a splint." She didn't say anything, but turned and went back to her spot at the foot of my bed while I finished packing.

It had been a nice gesture on her part. In spite of the fact she was not all she seemed, I was drawn to her. She was genuinely nice. "Chroma," I said with sudden inspiration, "what are you doing the rest of the evening?"

"Nothing," she said. "When we get back to RangeMan I am supposed to call Woody and have him take me back to the safe house."

"How would you like to stay here for a while? Maybe the rain will lighten up before we have to go back outside in it. We can order in dinner and then you can take me back to RangeMan."

Her smile was wide. "That would be great." It would be great. If I had to go back to Ranger's apartment and eat there I'd get rabbit or health food, and I needed a meatball sub. I called Pino's and ordered delivery for two. I found a couple of bottles of beer on the bottom shelf of the fridge, and we settled into wait for the food. This was turning out to be a good plan as it would give us time to talk. I wasn't going to be obvious, but I wanted to learn more about her. And then I would hit Ranger up for the entire story.

The knock on the door twenty minutes later coincided with a loud rumble from my stomach. The sweet and sour spaghetti had been good, but that was hours ago and I was eagerly anticipating Pino's. I made a cursory glance through the peep hole before I opened the door and then went back for a second look. My appetite diminished immediately. I yanked the door open.

Joe Morelli stood holding a brown bag that contained our supper. He was leaning against the opposite wall, and I wondered if he'd done it intentionally so I could get a full body view of him through the door. He looked good, but then he always did. There was an air of insolence about him, with his free hand shoved casually into his jeans pocket, belying the tenseness of his body. He was spoiling for a fight, and it dawned on me, he'd seen the RangeMan SUV and thought Ranger was inside. What could it matter to him? We'd said our goodbyes two nights ago and he'd been good with it then. I stepped back and motioned for him to enter. He was going to get a surprise if he thought he'd find Ranger.

"I was just leaving Pino's when your order came up," he said. "They're short a delivery person tonight so I offered to bring it to you."

I smiled in what I hoped he'd take for sweetness but was really pure satisfaction at seeing the purpling bruise on his jaw. "Come in and I'll get my purse to reimburse you." I turned away to get my pocketbook, but not before I saw his eyes widen at the sight of Chroma.

"Forget it," he said. "Your dinner is on me tonight." I might as well have not been in the room. His eyes were focused solely on Chroma, scanning her from head to foot and taking plenty of time to linger along the way.

"Joe, this is Chroma," I told him as I turned to Chroma. "Chroma, this is Joe Morelli, my uhm, friend."

"Her ex-lover, to be exact, with whom she's friendly, but we're not friends, are we Cupcake? That's all behind us now." He reached a hand out to Chroma and she brought hers forward. He didn't shake her hand so much as caress it. The rat bastard was coming on to Chroma!

"Thanks for the delivery, Joe," I said. I went and stood by the open door in what I thought was an obvious message. He let go of Chroma's hand and backed toward the door.

As he walked through he turned in a move worthy of Colombo. "One other thing," he said. "I found Lenny Starvitz and Rocko Barnes underneath your fire escape when I came in." I frowned, not immediately recognizing the names. "Friends of Lonnie Murdoch. Not nice guys. I don't know what they were doing here, but I badged them and told them to beat it. They left. They're not the kind of people you want to hang out with, Cupcake."

"I'm not your Cupcake, Joe."

"No. No, you're not, and I'm not sure you ever were." He turned and the finest ass in Trenton made its way through my door for what I hoped was the last time. The nerve of that man! He'd cheated on me and now he was acting like the wounded party. I involuntarily tried to flex my casted hand and a spear of pain halted the action. I stomped my foot instead and muttered one of the few Italian curses I'd heard my father use.

"Stephanie?" I heard the question in Chroma's voice and swung the door closed, taking time to slide the bolt as well.

"Let's eat," I said. "I'm starving."

"That was Officer Hottie," Chroma said with surety. I glanced at her in surprise and she gave me a funny little half-smile. "Lula talks when she works out. I wasn't joking when I told you I'd heard about many of your bounty hunting exploits."

"Yeah, that was Officer Hottie, Joe Morelli, my ex-boyfriend, ex-fiancé and the asshole who charmed me out of my virginity on the floor of a bakery. And good riddance to him."

"He hurt you."

He had hurt me. I guess my blank face wasn't as practiced as Ranger's because Chroma had seen what I didn't want anyone to see. The anger over finding out he was cheating had diminished. The hurt was taking its place. I hadn't been lying when I'd told Ranger it was over, but it was becoming clear to me, I still had things to work through. I sighed.

"Yeah, he hurt me," I said. "But I'm a big girl and I'll get over it. I suppose I've hurt him, too. It's just time to move on. C'mon. Let's eat." I picked up the empty bottles of beer, sat the Pino's bag on the table and went in search of two more beers.

"I'll eat in a minute," Chroma said, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "I need to call Ranger and tell him Lonnie's men have made a move."

"I'll call," I said. "I need to talk to him anyway." I pulled out my phone and called and waited for the expected, "Yo." When he answered I told him of Morelli's visit and the presence of Lonnie's goons outside the apartment.

"I want you out of there," he said. "Have Chroma get you back to RangeMan ASAP. Woody is there waiting on her, to escort her back to the safe house."

"Well, about that," I said. "I'm not that excited about spending a night all alone in your apartment."

"Babe." Exasperation, I heard it. "I can't free myself up to entertain you."

"That's not necessary," I said. "What are you doing right now?"

"I'm sitting in an SUV watching the back of a building and it's what I'll be doing until Howdy relieves me at 0400."

"Good, tell me where. Chroma can drop me off and I'll sit with you." There was silence and I knew he'd say no. What he said gave me a little thrill of hope.

"Go to RangeMan, Babe. Pick up Woody. He knows my location, and he can drop you off and then take Chroma home. But be prepared to sit in this SUV most of the night. And I need your word that if something goes down here, you'll stay put in the SUV."

"It's raining," I said. "I promise I'll stay in the vehicle." I made a poor attempt at a victorious fist pump with my casted hand. Sitting in a RangeMan fleet SUV all night long, listening to the rain fall softly on the roof didn't sound like work to me…and besides, we needed to talk.


	10. Chapter 10

**_A/N: Because this is my only outlet, I want to respond to all of the guest reviewers...thanks for your comments, I appreciate them. And to those who are nervous, I added a phrase to my summary...Babe HEA. As always, I use them for fun and not for profit._**

Chapter 10

Conversation and Revelation

I sat in the SUV which was parked inconspicuously at the edge of a loading dock. I could see Ranger or maybe the shadow of Ranger as he made his way away from me, down the alley. Woody had dropped me off on his way to the safe house only minutes before. I'd planned to use the quiet time in the SUV to get some answers from Ranger, but as usual things weren't going according to my plan. I had plenty of questions, and I was betting Ranger had all the answers, but before I could even formulate a question he'd turned to me and reminded me of my promise to stay out of the action and then with a curt, "Stay here," he was out of the SUV.

I saw movement against the wall of the nearest building. I blinked and tried to focus on what I thought was Ranger and then, in true RangeMan fashion, he disappeared. I sat in the SUV waiting and wondering how long I should wait before I went after him. Chroma had said earlier that merry men worked in pairs, but he was Ranger and it was raining, and I'd promised to stay in the vehicle. Still, someone should have his back.

Just when I decided he'd been out too long and I needed to find him, I saw him jogging back from wherever he'd gone. He stopped and stood for a moment under a dimly lit overhang and I saw the faint illumination from his phone. He talked for a minute before he disconnected and started back toward the truck, his feet splattering the puddled water he ran through. When he was once again settled with his wet windbreaker stored behind the seat he turned toward me. "Fucking cats."

"What?"

"I saw movement and it was cats."

"Who were you talking to?"

"Santos, the guy who is supposed to be here in this alley. Your sister is fine and they've seen no sign of trouble."

"That's good. They're at Lester's Fortress of Solitude, right, somewhere in the country?"

Ranger snorted. "Yes, it's in the country, and he's doing me a favor by taking your sister off the grid. Otherwise he'd be the one spending his Friday night out here."

"Well lucky for you, I'm here to keep you company," I said in what I hoped was a comforting yet enthusiastic tone. "It's a nice night for a stakeout."

"Babe."

"What are we doing here?" I asked

"We're waiting to see if anyone tries to get in through the back of the building in the middle of the alley, the building on the left."

"I don't think we're going to see any action, other than the cats," Ranger said. "The building is video surveilled, but someone is getting in somehow and RangeMan is going to sit here for twenty-four hours to make certain no one gets in without us seeing them."

"Riveting work." I was being sarcastic, but Ranger responded seriously. "It's the easiest and most cost effective way to make sure our surveillance is working. Someone is getting inside, but I think they are doing it internally, from the building next door. If we don't see any one on the outside then we will set up surveillance on the inside, but we have to rule out the external entrances first, because that would mean getting adjacent businesses involved." I was only half listening, trying to compose my forthcoming interrogation. I realized he'd quit speaking and I didn't let the silence continue.

"Ranger, we need to talk."

"We are talking."

"We need to talk about Chroma."

"What was Morelli doing in your apartment?" he asked, ignoring my opening salvo.

"I'm not sure. He was at Pino's when he heard my order get called in and he brought it to me. He wasn't particularly nice about it, so I don't know why he bothered."

"Does he know you are over...finished, totally?" I thought there was sarcasm in the question but I chose to ignore it.

I held my casted hand up. "Yep, I think he does, but I don't want to talk about Joe, I want to talk about Chroma—and her brother, Ant."

Ranger didn't move his gaze from the midpoint in the alley, but I knew I had his full attention. "She told you?" he asked.

"No. I figured it out, today. When did you figure it out?"

"When she kicked the shit out of Lonnie Murdoch. I knew Ant for a long time before he came to work for me. I knew he had a sister, but I didn't put it all together until I saw her fight. Then I knew. I asked her the next morning and she told me the story."

"Tell me the story," I said.

"Why didn't you ask Chroma?"

"I was going to, until Morelli showed up and told us Murdoch's goons were trying to get in via my fire escape."

"I talked to Morelli, tonight," Ranger said.

"You did?"

"Yes, right after you called me. I told him about the threat against you, Val, Lula and Chroma and I told him I didn't have the manpower at present to take care of the situation. He's going to have Trenton PD keep tabs on the men."

"That's big of him," I said.

"He's very protective of you. And he enjoyed having me ask him for help." Ranger's tone said he hadn't enjoyed asking.

"About Chroma," I said trying to refocus the conversation.

"Chroma will have to tell you her story, Babe. It's not mine to tell."

"But I think she might be lying about her past," I persisted. "She said she was a mercenary, but in Eastern Europe. I think she was in Syria, with her brother." I had known I had Ranger's attention from the moment he'd reentered the SUV, but he'd kept his eyes focused on the back of the building. After my last statement his gaze swiveled from the building to me, and all at once I remembered how intimidating I had found Ranger to be at the beginning of our relationship, when he was my mentor. Now he was my boss, and I didn't think he liked what he was hearing.

"I told you your searches would be monitored, but you used the program to satisfy your own curiosity," he said. He didn't sound happy.

"It wasn't my fault." He arched one eyebrow and I continued. "It really wasn't my fault. I came back from lunch and clicked the 'return to last browsing session' icon and it took me someplace I hadn't been."

Ranger sighed and said nothing and we lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. I had no idea what he was thinking, but I was trying to figure out how to change the mood in the SUV. Tension was radiating off him and that was definitely unusual for someone with his control. He sighed again and with a little shrug of his shoulders he began to speak.

"Anatoly's father was Russian, his mother Canadian." Ranger's eyes were once again focused on the back of the building. "We met at a time and in a place I can't talk about. If either one of us had failed at our mission, our countries would have denied any knowledge of the op. Hell, it was successful and they still denied any knowledge of the incident. Our objective was the same even though we approached it from different directions and we worked together, unofficially, of course."

"When my time of service was over I came home and became a partner in RangeMan. When Anatoly's time was over, he and his sister immigrated to Canada. They were able to claim Canadian citizenship because of their mother. Chroma stayed in Canada with her mother because she was still in school. Ant obtained a US work visa and came to me."

"Is he the one that taught you Systema?" I asked.

"Yes. He was more than proficient. He was absolutely lethal. He didn't stay with RangeMan too long because he had an opportunity to make a lot of money in a short time. And he needed money, more than RangeMan could pay him."

"I know what he did," I said. "He became a mercenary and fought in the civil war in Syria, and somehow, he took Chroma with him."

"And how did you come upon that information?" Ranger asked curtly.

"The mercenary part I read about, but the Chroma part I guessed. But I'm right, aren't I? She said she'd been a mercenary."

"You need to talk to Chroma if you want to know. And she may tell you it's none of your business. Talking about her brother is something she doesn't do much."

"Why? Don't they get along?"

"He's dead," Ranger's voice was flat and his gaze had turned back to the inkiness of the alley. "He was killed in Syria. If you'd looked a little longer you'd have found the information. It's public record. He went to Syria to fight as a Russian mercenary and he was betrayed by people whom he trusted. It cost him and many others their lives and…" Ranger leaned forward in the seat, his eyes never straying from their focus on something I didn't see.

"Back to Chroma," I said.

"No." One word, but it was enough to tell me he meant it. I sat quietly trying to assess the sudden change in Ranger's mood. I guess that was the end of me trying to get information on Chroma. I decided to change my strategy. I was thinking I'd get more information out of Lula, if I asked the right questions. My strange fascination with learning about Chroma's past was something I didn't stop to consider. It just seemed important that I know everything there was to know about her.

Ranger said Joe was protective of me. Well, I thought Ranger was being very protective of Chroma. And that made me wonder what he was hiding.

It was his damn ESP. He was reading my mind, and I didn't even care because it caused him to break the silence which was once again getting uncomfortable. "She is not the center of some evil plot, Stephanie. It's just that it's her business. As I've said before, everyone at RangeMan has secrets and we let them lie. I imagine you have a few secrets yourself."

Me? Did I have secrets? Yep, I had a big one. One I'd only admitted to myself recently, about the time he'd found me walking home with a broken hand. I was in love with Ranger and I'd known it for a while, but I was in the kind of love that wanted a ring and a white wedding gown and a registry at the local department store, I wanted to pick out towels and sheets and cookware, and I could never let my secret be known.

I looked across to see Ranger focused intently upon me, the potential menace in the black alley temporarily forgotten. There was an almost smile hovering at the corners of his lips and with an embarrassed start I remembered his damn ESP. Had he figured out my secret?

I flushed, which hopefully went unnoticed in the darkened cabin. "No, not me," I falsely assured him. "I have no secrets at all." At least his ESP had lightened the atmosphere in the SUV. Once again I was being entertainment. And I knew there was a difference between what I wanted and what I would settle for. I was starting to think that Ranger on his terms would be better for me than no Ranger at all.

"There is something else I want to talk to you about," I said. I waited a few moments for a response, but I got none. I took a deep breath and jumped off the high dive. "How did I get your t-shirt back on?"

"You were cold."

"I woke up and put the t-shirt back on? I don't remember that."

"You didn't wake up, I put it on you."

"How'd you know I was cold?"

"Babe."

"Don't 'Babe' me, Ranger," I said. I was proud of myself. My voice was even and the stress I was feeling from speaking so forthrightly wasn't showing at all. I was breathing fast and the windows were fogging up, but hey, the humidity was very high. Ranger reached out, turned the key in the ignition, and flipped the defroster on.

I continued. "What's the deal, Ranger? Two nights ago you refused me, because of the wine and pain pills. I get that. But the next morning in your office you kissed the lipstick off me! If Lester hadn't interrupted…well. And then that night you slept in the same bed with me but felt obligated to put my t-shirt back on me. If you don't want me, let me know, but quit messing with my mind!"

I sat back against the seat and tried to calm my breathing. I looked over at Ranger to see what his reaction to my frankness was. I hoped no one broke into his client's building, because I think I had totally taken his attention away from the stakeout.

"I'm not convinced you and Joe are over," he said.

Emotions warred within me. Anger came first at his refusal to believe me, then hurt. I'd been juggling feelings for Joe and Ranger for years and I knew Joe was out of my life.

"Joe and I are over, Ranger. Isn't my word good enough for you?"

"I know you think it's over, but Joe doesn't give up easily. I don't want to place you in a position that will make it hard for the two of you to get back together."

"Can't I be the judge of that?"

"Is having sex with me worth risking our friendship?"

"What?" I asked. "Are you saying if we have sex we can't be friends any longer?"

"What I'm saying, Babe, is that you matter to me. I haven't changed my views on a sexual relationship. I can be friends, and I can have sex with you, and I can separate the two. Can you?"

Could I? Hell no. "Of course I can," I said with what I hoped at least sounded like certainty. And then it happened. Tears came. The anger I'd felt just moments before was gone and I was left with the hurt, because I knew I couldn't just have sex with Ranger. I'd want more. Maybe it was the Burg girl in me, but I'd want more. Maybe it was because I thought deep down he felt more than he was saying.

"Shit," Ranger said. "It's already happening. I've hurt you and it wasn't my intention."

Okay, the anger was back. "Listen, you asshole," I said. "I'm a grown woman, and I don't need you looking out for my emotions. I can handle myself just fine. If I say I just want to have a sexual relationship with you, then do me the favor of believing me. Or tell me you just don't want me. I imagine there are plenty of others that do! And if Joe Morelli is one, well…he's not on my list. I have needs and if you don't want to…"

I never finished my sentence which was a good thing, because I had no idea how I was going to finish it. Ranger's arm snaked out and wrapped around my shoulders. He hauled me against him and I had the brief thought I was glad it was a fleet vehicle, because it was much bigger than the Cayenne. His lips met mine and rational thought ceased. The need to touch him and have him touch me took over all my senses. Suddenly I was on my back, my head against the door and Ranger was on top of me. The sounds of our gasping breaths, when we broke apart briefly, sent flames throughout my body. There was no finesse, there was just raw need. Holy cow! We were going to do it in the SUV. We weren't even going to get all of our clothes off. We were going to behave recklessly and passionately and it was going to be good.


	11. Chapter 11

**_I use them for fun and not for profit._**

Chapter 11

Candy is Dandy

The first nudge back to the real world occurred for Ranger and me at the same time. A blinking light on his wristwatch lit the dark interior with its small pulsing blips. He uttered a short, sharp expletive and suddenly, I found myself lying with my body mostly on the seat and my head jammed against the door, clothes in disarray, and Ranger back behind the wheel. I'd gone from the throes of passion to being thrown against the seat, discarded, and fully aroused.

"Sorry, Babe," he said as he simultaneously zipped his cargoes and pulled a windbreaker from behind the seat. The door opened, thankfully with no interior light flash, and Ranger was gone, running down the alley.

I sighed deeply and took inventory. Jeans bunched around my ankles. T-shirt on the floor. Bra twisted around my casted arm. Panties…missing. How the heck did he get my panties off with my jeans still on? I sat up and pulled my bra free of my cast and shoved it into my purse. I grabbed my t-shirt off the floor and shrugged it over my head.

I wriggled my jeans up and squirmed uncomfortably at the feel and the idea of going commando. The alley was dark and except for the rain I heard nothing. I thought the light on his watch was some sort of alarm and I was assuming an alarmed exit had been breached. That meant backup would be on the way. That meant I needed to find my panties.

I pulled a small flashlight out of my purse and began searching the vehicle in earnest. They were nowhere. There was a RangeMan windbreaker crammed under my seat. No panties. I looked down the alley in the direction Ranger had headed, but I saw nothing, and then without warning the alley was lit with headlights from vehicles entering at both ends simultaneously. The cavalry was here. I grabbed the windbreaker and pulled it on, grateful it was big enough that the cast slid easily through the sleeve.

I stayed where I was, because of the promise I'd made Ranger earlier in the evening, and because I remembered what happened when Lula had taken a more active role in the distraction at Shorty's. The Merry Men would have everything under control so I was content to sit and wait. Content, but curious, I leaned across and turned the key in the ignition to accessory and lowered my window. The rain was coming straight down and it was worth a few sprinkles on my face to listen. I had no idea what the business was, who was getting in or how, but it would pass the time trying to figure it out and there was sure to be RangeMan conversation in the alley.

Before long, I saw someone approaching the SUV. I wrapped the windbreaker, more tightly around myself and rolled the window down a little lower. I recognized Woody. "Hey, Steph," he said. "Doing okay here?"

"Yes," I said. "What's going on?"

"Ranger took someone down. I'm not sure if it was someone trying to get into Uhlman's or not. He told me to check on you and let you know this could take a while."

"Okay," I said, fully aware "check on me" was Ranger speak for telling me to keep my ass planted in the seat. "If you learn anything interesting, come let me know," I told Woody.

"Will do."

As Woody walked away he stopped and flashed his Maglight on the ground. I heard his short shout of laughter before he walked away. I settled in to wait and watch and was rewarded about a quarter of an hour later. Woody, Howdy and Hal were walking back toward the SUV. They were talking about exits on adjacent buildings, and it became clear there had been a break-in at the Uhlman building. Woody's voice was loud and clear over the rain.

"Hey, fellas, look what I discovered earlier." He bent and with a gloved hand picked up something from the ground. His Maglite reflected off the wall, and my now soggy and obviously torn Victoria's Secret panties were silhouetted against the wet brick. I felt myself flushing. That answered the question of how Ranger had removed the panties with my jeans in place. He'd ripped them off.

"Hey, those look pricey," Hal said. "Not that I'm any expert, but I don't think they're run-of-the-mill hooker underwear—you know, like from the dollar store." There was a moment of silence before Woody and Howdy burst into raucous laughter.

"You been hanging out with cheap whores again, Hal?" Woody managed to choke out between bursts of laughter.

"Fuck you," Hal said and he punched Woody in the arm.

Howdy said something low that I couldn't hear. I moved my head closer to the window, letting the rain frizz my hair. There was more laughter, this time from all three, and Howdy made a crude pelvic thrusting motion and the laughter continued. Their voices droned on in low tones and I felt the blood drain out of my face. They couldn't know they were talking about my underwear, could they?

"You're right, Hal, these are classy," Woody said. He nudged something on the ground with his foot and aimed his Maglite at some unseen detritus. "I don't see a rubber. People need to practice safe sex." Again there was laughter, and I looked wildly around the cabin for the glint of a foil wrapper. I saw nothing and relaxed a little.

"Something hinky happened here in the alley, all right," Hal said. "Must have been some real balls to the wall sex, or, hey, maybe it has something to do with the break-in."

"If it was against this wall, there's a sore piece of naked ass out there somewhere." Howdy leaned forward and ran his hand over the rough bricks. Woody dropped my panties and the remarks continued, with occasional bursts of laughter. It was juvenile, but maybe typical for a group of wet, bored men. I didn't know, because they didn't usually talk that way in front of me.

"Balls to the wall sex" was something Joe used to say, and I didn't want to think of Joe and sex. I felt slightly nauseated when I wondered again, if they thought the panties might be mine, but I quickly consoled myself they had no idea. Not one of them would have dared to make a remark about Ranger's woman, and even though, technically, I wasn't, they all assumed I _was_ Ranger's woman. I was disconcerted at the accuracy of their remarks, even if they didn't know it was me they were talking about.

I got a funny feeling in my stomach when I realized what had been going on in the SUV was just what I told Ranger I could handle. I'd told Ranger I could separate sex from emotion, and it was time I started to do so. They were just men being boys, talking crudely about sex. No need to take it personally. My ears perked up when I heard Ranger's name mentioned, and I began to listen in earnest to their conversation once more.

"This is in a direct line with Ranger's SUV. I wonder if he saw it happen," Woody said. "He's been sitting here for a couple of hours." And then, as if he'd just remembered the SUV wasn't empty, he turned the beam of the flashlight toward me. I gave the men a little finger wave.

Woody jogged over. I thought he seemed a little flustered, and I knew he was wondering how much of the conversation I'd heard. Plenty.

"Ranger said if you wanted to go back to RangeMan I could take you," he said as he curled the same gloved fingers that had been holding my underwear around the top of the window glass. "Someone set off the alarm when they were coming out of the building. Ranger got him and then found a body lying in the doorway. We're waiting on Trenton PD right now."

Trenton PD. Homicide. Joe. "Yeah," I said. "I'd like to go back."

Woody said something to the other men and hopped into the driver's seat. I was glad all my missing clothing was accounted for. Finding anonymous panties in the alley was one thing, but how would I have explained them if they'd been laying on the car seat? As we drove away from the alley I saw the lights of a Seven Eleven ahead.

"Woody, I need to make a quick stop at the convenience store," I said.

"Sure, no problem."

He pulled in, parked and started to exit the vehicle. "I can do this on my own," I told him.

"No, ma'am. I'd better go in with you. You're still under protective custody." I wondered if he'd call me ma'am if he knew the underwear he'd been twirling around his gloved finger was mine. I shook my head to dislodge the thought and turned to the problem at hand.

The parking lot was empty except for our vehicle. I didn't want a witness to what I knew was going to happen. "Uhm," I purposefully stammered a little. "It…It's a female thing, if…uhm, I mean. Well, look, Woody, I'll be perfectly safe. Just in and out."

"Okay," he said, hesitantly, "but if someone else shows up I'll have to come in."

"Sure. No problem," I said, repeating his earlier words back to him.

I was out of the passenger seat and inside the store in a matter of seconds. The candy aisle beckoned. I knew Ranger's cupboard wasn't stocked with the kind of comfort food I needed. I scooped up handfuls of Snickers and Baby Ruths, and I balanced a king size Reese's Cup in the bend of my casted arm. On my way to the counter, I saw the Skittles and Twizzlers. They were fat free. "I'm not done yet," I told the clerk as I dumped my booty on the counter. I ran for the freezer at the back of the store and picked up a pint of Ben and Jerry's. Hazed and Confused; it seemed an appropriate flavor.

I dropped the bag on the floor of the SUV as I pulled myself back up onto the seat. "Okay, Woody. I'm ready to go." His eyes studiously avoided the bag, which I thought was interesting since he'd recently been handling random female underwear. The thought of a box of tampons obviously was outside his comfort zone. Men were interesting, but I was glad he didn't look too closely. I preferred to keep my plans for the rest of the night to myself.

A half hour later, Ben and Jerry were safe in the freezer, I was showered, appropriately pantied, and I was getting ready to do something in Ranger's bed that had never been done before. I was going to stretch out, eat candy and ponder my inability to separate sex from love.

I hadn't wanted to see Joe earlier, so now I was in Ranger's bed, alone, and I didn't want to see him either. I needed some _me_ time. The conversation between the guys in the alley had given me cause for thought, and I had some serious thinking to do.

Ranger thought Joe and I were going to get back together. I knew that wasn't true, but there were still some things to be resolved between Joe and me. I felt betrayed by him. Hell, I had been betrayed by him. Maybe Ranger had been right. Maybe I should settle my feelings over Joe before I started something with Ranger.

Problem is, Ranger and I had already started something years ago and it wasn't stopping. It didn't matter whether I could just enjoy the sex without being sad over the lack of a traditional relationship. I'd convinced Ranger I could separate the act from the emotion, but now I was wondering if I should push forward with that or retreat.

I glanced at the bedside clock. I figured I had a couple of hours before Ranger showed up. If it was a homicide, Joe would have him wrapped up with questions for at least that long. I lay back in my thinking position and opened the king sized Reese's.

I came awake with a start and looked across the room to see Ranger. He was leaning one shoulder against the doorjamb, his arms loosely crossed over his chest, in the exact position he'd been in a few years earlier when he'd first found me in his bed. His brown eyes were unwavering, fixed on me, as he walked across the room.

His mouth almost curved at the corners as he stopped beside the bed. His hand softly caressed my cheek and came away holding a smashed Reese's cup wrapper.

"Babe." Still no smile, but I thought I saw amusement lurking in the depths of his eyes. "What's the problem?"

"I, uh, no problem." My voice croaked like Kermit's. My tongue was thick and my teeth were coated with an obnoxious chocolate scum. OMG! I had a chocolate hangover, and I'd fallen asleep with the evidence surrounding me. Ranger bent forward, and I thought he was going to kiss me. I pushed back the covers and squirmed around him and ran for the bathroom. When I came back into the bedroom minutes later, with teeth freshly brushed, I found Ranger sitting on the edge of the bed, all evidence of my melt-down now residing in the wastebasket at the edge of the nightstand.

He pulled me to sit beside him. I sensed his tiredness, and I felt guilty at the extra work the botched distraction had cost him. He turned my face toward his and gently placed his lips over mine. They were soft and familiar and comforting in a way even the Snicker's bar hadn't been, and then his tongue worked its way between my lips, and I moaned as the passion and need started to grow. And I wondered where I'd find the strength to tell him of my decision.

He drew back and looked at me and I saw desire. It was his desire and mine reflected back at me from his dark-lashed chocolate stare. "We have unfinished business." His arms came around me and his mouth found mine again, and I willed my brain to disengage. The need for what he could give me was so strong I wanted to melt into him, but the conversation from the alley would not leave my brain.

This time when he pulled back, the desire was still in his face, but there was a slight lift of one eyebrow and then as I watched I saw the curtain come down. Ranger in control mode.

"Morelli?" he asked.

"What?" I was surprised.

"When you pull back, it's because you've remembered Morelli. I thought you were done. Totally. Finally." The sarcasm was back. I'd heard it before when he repeated the words I'd said to him about being finished with Morelli. Sarcasm was un-Rangerlike.

"I didn't pull back. You pulled back."

"You did," he said. "You were in the moment, and then you weren't. So, you are having thoughts about reconnecting with Morelli." It was a statement but I heard the question in his voice.

"No. This has nothing to do with Morelli. It's because…" It's because the men were making fun of my underwear in the alley? I couldn't tell him that. I floundered for a moment not knowing what to say.

"It's because you don't want to do something that will push Morelli farther away. You still care about him," he said. It was an emotionless statement, based on what Ranger thought was fact. I couldn't let that assumption go on any longer.

"I do still have feelings for Joe," I said. Ranger made no response so I continued.

"I feel like I want to kill him. I feel like I want to kick him in the balls, run him down with my car, punch him in the jaw…only I can't afford any more broken bones and my…"

The ring of Ranger's phone and his immediate reaction stopped me, mid-sentence. He didn't check the caller ID, but answered in Spanish. His voice softened as he held a short conversation.

I sensed patience in him and extreme fatigue as he conversed in a language I didn't understand. I glanced at the bedside clock and was surprised to see it was morning. He'd been on duty all night. Another flare of guilt flickered. He'd been on duty over twenty hours. And it was at least partly my fault.

He disconnected and set the phone back on the nightstand. "This is gonna have to wait, Babe." Again, I saw fatigue, not just from lack of sleep, but a bone deep weariness, like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. And then he straightened his posture and he was Ranger again, but I'd had a glimpse behind the façade.

"Is there a problem?" I asked.

"Not a serious one. It was my mother. My father is out of town and her street is flooded. She needs a ride to Mass, and she asked me to bring one of my big trucks to get through the water and get her."

"Mass?" I questioned. "It's Saturday."

"She reads the scriptures at daily Mass," he said. "I'll be gone a couple of hours." He got up from the bed and moved toward the dressing room before he stopped and turned to me. "Do you want to come along?"

"I, uh, no. I don't really have anything to wear." Truth is, I wanted to go. To meet Ranger's mother would be wonderful. But I needed some time to myself, and I'd just been given a reprieve.

So, as Ranger showered and prepared to leave, I began to plan. I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize my safety. That would upset Ranger, and I thought he already had plenty of other problems to deal with. If things went smoothly with the transfer of Lonnie Murdoch, I'd be free to leave RangeMan tomorrow so I was only moving the schedule forward a little.

"See you later," I said, casual in my lie, as he left the apartment. He turned and stared at me for a long moment before he let the door close between us. That damn ESP, I thought. He knew.


	12. Chapter 12

**_I use them for fun, and not for profit_**

Chapter 12

Keep Your Friends Close

Ranger was gone and I was alone in his apartment. I waited five minutes. I didn't think he was coming back, but I wanted to make sure. I needed some space. My desire for Ranger was almost overwhelming and, mainly, I just needed to get out of his space. But I didn't want to create any more problems for him.

I kept telling myself, I was a victim in the distraction screw-up and it was partly true, but I'd had a feeling, a spidey-sense type of feeling, from the first moment Lula had suggested the plan. If I'd paid attention to my feeling, I wouldn't be a prisoner at RangeMan and Ranger wouldn't be short some of his best men. So, no matter how badly I wanted to escape, I wasn't going to cause more worry for him.

When I was sure he wasn't returning, I picked up my phone and dialed Valerie. I knew she was in the country somewhere, safe from Lonnie's goons, and I knew Lester wouldn't balk at my company. He liked me. With frustration, I counted the rings and then clicked my phone off as Val's went to voice mail. I pulled up my contacts and found Lester's number. I dialed and again counted the rings, mentally willing him to pick up. Voice mail. I knew that couldn't be right. Lester would never have his phone off when he was on duty. Maybe there was no phone service at the Fortress of Solitude, but that wasn't right either, because Ranger had spoken with Lester the night before.

With sudden inspiration, I turned to the RangeMan land line. I dialed Lester's number and he answered on the first ring.

"Yo, boss. Got news for me?" His voice was low and husky, but alert. He'd been asleep. I glanced at the clock. It was morning, but it was still very early.

"Yeah," I said. ""I've got news for you. It's impolite to ignore my call."

"Uh, Beautiful, is that you?" I could hear a soft rustling noise and the squeak of bed springs, and I covered my guilt at waking him with irritation.

"Yes," I snapped. "It's me and don't play dumb. I needed to talk to you. I can't stay here at RangeMan any longer. I want you to come get me, and I'll stay with you and Valerie until it's safe to go back home. It can't be any longer than another twenty-four hours."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Lester said.

"Why not?"

"Well, for one thing, we are some distance from RangeMan and for another thing, there isn't really room for another person here."

"That's not a problem," I said. "Val and I can share a bed."

"Hmmm," Lester replied. I rolled my eyes. I imagined Lester salivating over two women in bed.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Lester. You are supposed to be taking care of my sister."

Now it was his turn to be irritated. "Whaddaya mean by that? I _am_ taking good care of your sister. She's safe here and won't come to harm on my watch."

"That's great," I said. "Come get me and I'll be safe there, too."

"I don't know," Lester said. "Let me talk to Ranger."

"Ranger is…" I hesitated. For some reason I didn't think I should broadcast the fact that Ranger was helping his mother. Ranger kept his private life…private, and I didn't think he would want his present whereabouts shared with his men. "Ranger is off the grid for a couple of hours," I finally said.

"Well, when he is back on the grid tell him to call me if he wants you out here." And then the jerk disconnected. I stood with the receiver to my ear until it started making a loud buzzing noise and then I dropped it back on the cradle. I plopped down on the bed and began to work out an alternate plan.

I called Lula.

"I can't talk now I'm in the middle of my eight minutes."

"Lula?"

"I can't talk. I'm working on a mink coat. I'll call you back in four minutes." And she disconnected.

I sat on the edge of the bed, looking at my phone, and I began to work on my plan again. Four and a half minutes later my phone rang. It was Lula.

"Sorry 'bout that," she said, "but a woman's gotta strike after the iron's been hot."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Well, Tank's an eight-minute man," she said. "You know, that time right after, when their muscles are all loose and their smiles are real big?"

"Yes," I said, cautiously. I was afraid I was going to hear something I didn't want to hear.

"Well, for Tank that time lasts eight minutes, and during that eight minutes I can talk him into about anything. I been wantin' a mink coat."

"Oh, sorry I interrupted," I said. "Are you getting a mink coat?"

"Not yet," she said. "I think a mink coat might be a sixteen or even a twenty-four minute project. He's sleeping now, so I, I, _achoo_. I'll try again later this morning. _Aaachoo_." I hadn't given any serious consideration to staying with Lula and Tank, and now that I knew Lula's plans for the day, I was left with Chroma.

"I need Chroma's phone number. Do you have it?"

"Sure," she said and gave me the number. "You didn't have to call me, not that I mind, because I bet Ranger has her number."

"Well, the thing is, I don't really want Ranger to know I'm calling her." I gave her an abbreviated version of my need for a little space from Ranger and listened to her tell me I was making things too hard on myself, and that I should just relax and enjoy the ride, and then we disconnected. I stayed on the edge of the bed for a few minutes longer and considered her advice. Then I called Chroma.

The call to Chroma went better than I thought. I told her Ranger had suggested I spend the day with her as he was going to be gone. She seemed happy at the idea of company. There was still one small problem. I had no idea where the safe house was located.

I dressed quickly and left my hair wild about my shoulders. I'd put it up later when I had more time to attempt it one-handed. Then I went to the control room. Luck was on my side. I saw Woody, leaning against a console talking to a man I didn't know. I walked across the room and tapped him on his shoulder.

He turned to me, and I saw fatigue on his face. "Do you work 'round the clock?" I asked.

"Nah. I'm off duty now, but I've been putting in some extra time. Vince and Cal should be back tomorrow and that will free up Tank, and Lester, so we'll be good after that.

"I hate to ask," I said. "I know you've been working almost non-stop, but Ranger was going to take me to spend the day with Chroma…at the safe house, but he got called away suddenly. Could you give me a ride?"

"Hmm," Woody said. "I saw him leave a few minutes ago. He didn't say anything to me."

"I'm sure he forgot," I said. "It was sort of a family emergency type of thing, I mean, not really an emergency…but he was in a hurry." Woody considered what I'd said for a moment.

"Okay," he said. "I was just about to head over there anyway."

"To the safe house?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Ranger didn't want to leave Chroma on her own, so I've been staying downstairs. It's a townhouse with a separate entrance to a small control room in the basement. It works out good, because I'm close if she needs me, but not really in her way. You ready to go now?"

"Almost. I just need to run back upstairs and get my bag." I turned and headed back to seven pondering the news that Ranger hadn't let Chroma go completely unguarded. For some reason that made me feel a little better.

The safe house turned out to be an unpretentious townhouse in Hamilton Township. Woody pulled the SUV into the garage next to a red Mazda Miata. She had a red sports car. Maybe body parts modeling and personal training paid more than just the bills. As we exited the SUV, a door at the back of the garage opened and Chroma stood in the doorway. Even on the edge of exhaustion, Woody's stride faltered. He didn't try to hide his appreciative perusal. She was wearing white. A sports bra and a pair of yoga shorts that almost covered her ass. Enough of her midriff was showing for me to see her six-pack abs. Apparently, Woody saw them too. With a slow shake of his head he began walking again. He stopped at a door next to the one Chroma was standing in and with a wave aimed in her direction he disappeared soundlessly down a flight of stairs. The control room. He was probably going there to control the reaction he'd had to Chroma.

I followed Chroma into the house and looked around. The décor had the same look as the apartments RangeMan had on the fourth floor. It was simple and comfortable. I mentally inventoried the contents of the room. Ginormous TV mounted above the fireplace, gas, not real. Built-in bookshelves on either side of the fireplace, filled with brightly-colored, dust-jacketed books. A massive leather sofa with a matching arm-chair. A low table in front of the sofa scattered with magazines. The most eye catching thing in the room was a large painting on the wall behind the sofa. It drew me in, and I walked closer to it.

The painting was abstract, with bright primary colors. I looked closely and thought I saw a naked woman, and I was pretty sure there was a rooster. It was hard to tell exactly what I was looking at, but I knew at once I liked it. And then my eyes saw the small carefree scrawl near the lower right hand corner. C. Mañoso. Could it be?

I turned to Chroma who was watching me take note of the room. "This says C. Mañoso. Do you know who that is?" I wondered if anyone had told her Ranger's given name.

"Yeah. It's Ranger's sister. Celia."

"Oh," I said. I didn't really see Ranger as an artist, but when I saw the name I'd jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"Woody told me," Chroma continued. "He said all the women in Ranger's family are artistic. His Grandma Serena is sort of famous for her paintings."

"Ahh," I said. I remembered the password to Ranger's account. 1serena. She was his grandmother. And then I realized Chroma knew things about Ranger I didn't. She'd spent a day with him and they'd talked. It was hard to imagine a chatty Ranger, but they did have her brother in common after all. I wondered if she was interested in Ranger as more than a boss, and then I did a mental eye roll. Of course she was. Who wouldn't be? And she said Woody had told her who C. Mañoso was. That meant she was interested enough to ask about him.

And here I was spending the day and hopefully the night in the safe house with her. I was trying to distance myself from Ranger, because I couldn't separate love and sex, and standing across the room from me was a woman who let her naked body parts be photographed and put on billboards. I was betting she could separate sex and love, and I was betting she was thinking about sex when she looked at Ranger.

But just because she wanted him didn't mean he wanted her. And then I looked closely at her ripped body that still managed to curve in all the right places. It didn't take Mary Lou's old Magic 8 ball to predict the possibility of Ranger and Chroma. _The signs point to yes_.

"I was just getting ready to work out," Chroma said, interrupting my thoughts. "This place has a yoga mat and some free weights as well as a nice treadmill. I ran ten miles earlier this morning. Would you like to join me?"

"No, thanks," I said. I picked up the remote and starting looking for a movie channel. "Exercise isn't really my thing." I saw the hopeful light in her eyes dim. She was a personal trainer after all, and she was probably just asking to help me. I hadn't meant to hurt her feelings so I relented a little. "Go ahead with your workout," I told her. "Then maybe later you can tell me about the personal training you do for Val and Lula. I don't really know much about it."

"Great," she said. She flashed me a big smile and left the room.

I started talking to myself under my breath. "What are you doing here, Stephanie? Why didn't you just stay and talk to Ranger. Tell him you'd changed your mind about sleeping with him. You know you'll have to talk to him sooner or later, and you know when you do he might go looking for someone else. And she's in the other room, stretching that perfect body of hers into sinuous contortions on the yoga mat. Well, shit." I curled myself into the corner of the comfy couch and balanced my casted hand on my knees, focused my eyes on the huge UHD screen, and pretended things were fine.

Chroma left me alone until the movie was over and then she came back into the room and plopped into the arm-chair. "I'm happy to have company," she said. "But why did you want to leave RangeMan? It must be so much fun to stay there. The gym is fabulous and the gun range is state of the art. There's so much to do over there." I looked closely, but she was sincere, not a note of sarcasm to be found.

"That's true," I said, "but I need a break from the testosterone. It's all over the place."

Chroma laughed. It was a pleasant sound and reminded me once again of how young she was. "I completely understand that," she said.

I looked at her for a moment before I screwed up my courage to ask, "Were you the only woman when you were with the mercenary army?"

"Yes."

"But your brother was with you, so you were safe?" It was both a statement and a question.

"You know about my brother?"

"I know a little," I said. "I was using Ranger's login yesterday and I came upon a previous search and found the information about your brother. I asked Ranger about it and he told me to ask you. But I'm not really asking you. I know it's not my business."

"That's okay, Stephanie." She looked sad and very young, and for a moment I thought she might cry, but she pulled herself up straight in the chair. "I'll tell you the story. I'd like you to know, although I haven't said anything about this to Lula or Val, and I'd kind of like to keep it that way."

"That's fine," I said.

"It's just that they are clients, and well..." she hesitated and I saw a flush rise in her cheeks. I remembered her shyness at our initial meeting. "I'd like to consider you a friend, and I'd like you to know about me."

"That's good," I told her. "I'd like to be your friend." I didn't stop to think that this might be a woman I should consider competition for Ranger's affection. At that moment I found I did want to be her friend. There was always room in a person's life for new friends.

"I wasn't in Syria with my brother," she said. "He knew what he was doing was dangerous, and he had a trusted group of men that he sent me to fight with. I shouldn't tell you where we were or what we were doing, but I can say I learned a lot during my time with the group." Her lips thinned and her eyes focused on the wall above my head. It was easy to see what she was about to say was causing her distress.

"My brother was betrayed," she continued, "and when he discovered the identity of his betrayer, he discovered that I was only safe as long as he was alive. He called me and told me his life was in danger and gave me instruction for what to do if he should be killed. It was the last time I talked to him. He was murdered that day."

"Chroma, I'm sorry," I said. I scooted forward on the sofa and reached across to her. I grasped her nearest hand with my good one. "I'm sorry," I said again. "I shouldn't have asked you. I can see how talking like this hurts you."

"It's okay. I want you to know. Anatoly told me if something happened to him I had to leave immediately. He told me to go to Canada and contact certain people who would help me change my name. Chroma is not my real name. Well, it is now, but it was not my original name. I don't think there are people looking for me any longer, but I still need to be careful. Anatoly told me to come to Trenton, to find Ranger and he would help me."

"I remember your brother," I told her. I didn't tell her I didn't have good memories of him, and I had the thought that possibly I'd misjudged him. In any case, it was not something I'd share with her.

"My brother trusted Ranger, so I did as he asked. I came to Trenton, with my new identity and my new career as a personal trainer. I was approached to model, and I agreed, because the money is good, but I can't let them show my face. It wouldn't be wise. You and Ranger are the only ones who know the truth."

"But you didn't approach Ranger," I said.

"No. I would have, if I'd thought I was in danger. I wanted to be in Trenton, to be near him, just in case. As luck would have it, Lula was one of my first clients and she likes to talk while she works out." We shared a smile before she continued. "Soon I was hearing stories of you and Officer Hottie. And of Tank and Ranger. I was doing fine so I decided to stay on my own. I knew I could contact him if I needed to."

"And then fate intervened," I said.

"Yes, it did. And now I have made contact. I have a future with RangeMan, and I owe it all to you."

I had to think about that for a little while. There was a knock on the back door and Woody opened it and stuck his head in. He looked horrible, and he'd obviously been asleep, but not for long enough.

"Hey, girls," he said. "Ranger called. Lenny Starvitz and Rocko Barnes were picked up by Trenton PD for something unrelated to Lonnie Murdoch. And RangeMan is officially handing Murdoch over tomorrow morning, so you guys will be set free early in the day."

"That's good news," I said. I remembered Ranger saying he'd asked Joe for help, and I wondered if the something unrelated was Joe's answer.

"Oh, and one other thing," Woody said. "Ranger says enjoy your day and he'll be by to get you about five this afternoon, Stephanie."

"Uh, thanks," I answered. Apparently, Ranger was going to interfere with my plans to spend the night at Chroma's. I was still in the moment recalling her story and the thought of talking with Ranger wasn't as scary as it would be later. I had to remember my decision and stay strong. That should be easy.

In the meantime I had the rest of the day to kick back and get to know Chroma better. I had a strange fascination to know everything about her, and she wanted to be friends. I thought being friends with Chroma would be a good thing. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I slumped back on the sofa. Wow, where had that thought come from? Chroma was not the enemy!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The Full Mount

I was not surprised to find the contents of Chroma's refrigerator strongly resembled the contents of the refrigerator at RangeMan. I suggested ordering in, but she demurred and I caved. I ate a healthy lunch of turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with raw veggies instead of chips. We drank bottled water and I was bored with the meal before I'd finished half the sandwich. I remembered the Ben and Jerry's in the freezer at Ranger's apartment. Too bad I hadn't thought to bring it with me. The lunch we were having cried out for dessert.

Our conversation was casual as we ate, both of us staying away from the topic of her brother. I told her about Vinnie, my scum-bag cousin. She laughed at the stories of his deviant sexual practices. "I sense you don't believe me," I told her. "I can't actually prove the story about the duck, but there are other equally deviant stories I know are true."

After we finished the meal, Chroma stood and began to clear away our lunch dishes. I would have helped, but I was one-handed, so I let her do my share. She turned to me from the sink. "So you dislike your cousin because of his sexual deviations?"

"I dislike Vinnie, but not because he's a pervert," I said. "What he does is pretty much his own business, or would be if he didn't have a sweet wife at home willing to wait on him hand and foot."

"Is she a pervert, too?"

"Lucille is not a pervert," I said. "Vinnie is an unfaithful asshole and not worthy of the love she gives him."

"I get it," Chroma said. She sat back down at the table and looked directly at me. "You dislike infidelity. That's what caused the break up between you and Office Hottie."

I shuddered. "Morelli. Call him Morelli. It takes more than a handsome face and a great butt to make someone a hottie."

"Okay," she said. "Morelli. You caught Morelli cheating on you and you hit him. And that's how you broke your hand."

"Not exactly," I said. "It was more a case of him being stupid enough to give himself away." I didn't want to go into the entire story of me showing up at Joe's house wearing a wig to put some zing back into a relationship that had been sliding into the mundane. "He said something that made it clear there was someone else, and I lost my temper and punched him."

"And you broke your hand."

"And I broke my hand," I agreed. I could sense she had something to say. Although we were getting to know one another better, she was still careful in her conversation, so I decided to help her.

"What?" I asked. "I can see you want to say something, so go ahead."

"It's just that…" she hesitated and then seemed to come to a decision. "I don't want to criticize, because I know how successful you are as a bounty hunter. But did you ever think of taking some self-defense classes? It's just that if you'd punched Morelli a little differently, or hit a soft spot instead of bone, you wouldn't be wearing a cast."

I laughed. "I usually do go for a soft spot…right between the legs, but my temper got the best of me this time and I struck out without thinking. And yes, I've thought of taking self-defense classes, but I've never done anything about it. I'm not really a group-joining kind of person."

She brightened immediately at my response. "I could teach you," she said. "Before I started working at RangeMan I was talking to the gym manager about scheduling time to teach a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class."

"Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? What are you, a martial arts expert?"

She flushed and looked down. "Well, yes. I am. I was trained by Anatoly from the time I was very young. And Brazilian Jiu Jitsu would be perfect for you, because using the proper technique, a smaller weaker person can successfully defend against a bigger, stronger assailant.

"I'm not small and weak," I protested.

"You're smaller and weaker than Morelli."

She was right about that. I looked at her face, now animated with enthusiasm and excitement. She seemed to be looking forward to training me, and I remembered her earlier disappointment when I'd declined to work out with her.

"Okay," I said. "I agree that I probably need some training. I don't want to take a class though, but it you wanted to show me some techniques, I guess that would be all right. Then, if I thought it would be a good thing, I could maybe let you teach me on a more regular basis." What the hell was I saying? This sounded like exercise and I just wasn't in the mood. I was still in a funk from the sugar binge I'd gone on the night before. The healthy lunch hadn't kicked in to fuel my body yet, but she was up from the table and moving.

"Let me get you something to tie your hair back," she said, "I don't want to catch it and accidentally rip a stand out." Yikes what was going to happen here?

"I've probably got something in my bag," I said, but she was gone and back before I could get up from the table. In one hand she had a hair brush and in the other she had a leather thong. It was the type of leather thong Ranger used when he tied his hair back.

I'd known Ranger for a long time. When we'd first met, his hair was very long and always tied back, with the exact type of tie that Chroma was holding. As RangeMan grew and became more successful he'd cut his hair, but lately he was letting it grow again. Mostly he just pushed it behind his ears and out of his face, but it was long enough now for a short ponytail, I was certain.

"I've got an elastic band in my purse," I told her.

"That's okay," she said. "I found this tie in the bedroom and I'll use it. You have beautiful hair, and it looks great down, but for this we'd better pull it back."

I was completely capable of pulling my own hair back, one-handed or not, but it felt good to let Chroma run the brush gently through my curls. It gave me time to think. To think about the leather thong and why she'd found it in the bedroom. Ranger had left it there. Oh, not since Chroma had moved in, I was sure. But at some point in the past, Ranger had spent time in this safe house and he'd left a hair tie in the bedroom.

It made me realize how much I still didn't know about Ranger. It seemed the more I learned about him the more there was to learn. Could I commit to sharing intimacies with a man I didn't know? That was the problem…I didn't know. We'd been intimate before, but I'd always had an insurance policy in the form of Joe. Having casual sex with a man I was in love with seemed like an oxymoron. Having sex with Ranger, when Joe wasn't in my life, seemed like flying on a trapeze without a net—exciting, but possibly fatal.

As Chroma tugged on my arm and led me to the yoga mat in the spare room I made a decision. It was too soon to write Ranger out of my life sexually. Maybe I could handle a "no relationship" sexual alliance with Ranger. Maybe I couldn't. He was going to come to the safe house to get me tonight, and I was going to ask for a time-out. That's what he'd been trying to give me. That's why he'd been keeping his distance, and I thought he'd be happy I'd come to the conclusion I needed a little time. I was suddenly feeling much better about the near future.

Chroma was talking to me, but I hadn't been fully listening. "Wait," I said. "What did you just say about blow jobs?" I was confused.

From the look on her face she was confused, too. And then she laughed, loud and long. "N-not blow j-jobs," she stammered, trying to hold back the mirth. "Not BJ, but BJJ. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu." I laughed, too, and pushed Ranger to the back of my mind.

"Okay," I said. "Teach me everything you know."

"Lay down on your back," she instructed me. "We'll start with the full mount. I'll show you first and then you can try it on me. I did as she asked, and before I knew it she was sitting astride me, her knees in my armpits and her body-weight holding me tightly to the mat. "This is a position of dominance, and from this position I can apply a chokehold that will incapacitate you." She just as quickly got off of me and held out her hand to help me up from the mat.

"Now, I'll lie down and you position yourself for a full mount on me. Once you get used to the position of being dominant over your opponent we will start talking about the technique involved in getting your opponent to the mat."

I was on top of Chroma, with my knees jammed deep into her armpits. My lower legs were pressed tightly against her upper body and my good hand was holding her upper arm immobile. My casted hand was pretending to hold her other arm immobile. I felt the hairs at the back of my neck tingle and I looked toward the doorway. Ranger—with his eyes open wide and his expression puzzled.

"It's a full mount," I said.

"Babe."

Quicker than I could react, I was sitting on my butt, half on and half off the yoga mat. Chroma was standing beside me. So much for my dominance. "We weren't quite expecting you this soon," she said to Ranger. "I was just showing Stephanie some self-defense moves."

"So I gathered," Ranger replied. He walked over to where I was sitting and extended a hand to pull me to my feet. "The Feds took Lonnie into custody a day earlier than originally planned. They've got some other operation that came to a head quicker than they thought, so they moved the transfer over. Cal and Vince are on their way back home."

"So does that mean we aren't in protective custody any longer?" I asked.

"That's right," Ranger said. "Normally, I'd want to keep you protected for a day or two longer, in case of retribution from some of Lonnie's allies, but that's not a problem now."

"Trenton P.D. picked them up," I said. "Woody told us."

"You can thank Morelli for that," Ranger said. "He searched and found a couple of obscure warrants. They'll be out of circulation for a while." He looked at me as if waiting for a response, but he got none. I wasn't going to thank Morelli for anything.

"You're free to leave the safe house," Ranger told Chroma. "I'll have you on days all next week. Monday, you'll start with Tank, and I'll rotate you through the men. If things go well, you'll be able to start second shift the next week." He was going to rotate her through the men. They'd probably all be happy about that, especially Lester. That thought reminded me of Valerie.

"Is Val coming back into Trenton?" I asked Ranger.

He frowned. "No, probably not until Monday morning. It seems the lane to Lester's property is flooded from all the rain, and it won't be safe to travel for a couple of days. She's stuck there, but Lester said she was being a good sport about it. And thanks to Ella, they won't run out of provisions."

"What about me?" I asked. "Can I leave now?"

"That's why I'm here," Ranger said.

When we pulled into the garage at RangeMan, I started rummaging through my purse to find my keys. My car had been at RangeMan since the day of Chroma's interview. "I'll just head on home," I told Ranger. "There are just a few things upstairs and I can pick them up on Monday."

"Come upstairs," Ranger said. I wanted to say no, but Ranger didn't look like he'd take no for an answer. His mouth was set in a firm line and acted like my coming with him was a done deal.

"Okay," I agreed. The coward in me wanted to run, but I knew we needed to talk and getting things settled between us would be a good thing. I thought Ranger would understand my need for time. His hand on my back as he guided me into the elevator seemed intimate, until I remembered his hand on Chroma's back the day before. I avoided eye contact and didn't initiate conversation on our way to his apartment. I knew I'd have to talk soon enough.

The door had barely closed behind us when Ranger turned into me and wrapped his arms around me. His head dipped and his mouth was on mine. I'd made a decision. I had a strong sense of what should and shouldn't happen between us, but his lips were on mine. I had trouble remembering my name, let alone my resolution. There was warmth emanating from my core and spreading throughout my body, and I may have moaned.

I ran my casted hand up his face and let my fingers slide through his hair. It was silky and straight. A mild scent of Bulgari wafted my way. He'd used his shower gel for shampoo. His hands were under my shirt, and then my shirt was on the floor. My bra was unhooked and, amazingly, my free hand seemed to be pulling his t-shirt loose from the waistband of his cargos. And our mouths were still joined.

We needed to talk. I needed some space, but, surely just this one time wouldn't hurt. My thoughts were bouncing back and forth across the hemispheres of my brain like a hard hit ping pong ball. I really couldn't think straight. And then his hand trailed down my spine and cupped my bottom, and I really couldn't think.

When I started thinking again, I found myself naked in Ranger's bed, with a naked Ranger under me. He was pulling my knees high under his armpits. Then his hands were on my ass urging me up off his body. I overbalanced and toppled forward, catching myself with my good hand on the headboard. My casted arm was resting on the headboard, too, and I was trying to regain my balance. His hands were still on my ass bringing me forward, and then back down toward him.

"Ranger, what are you doing?"

"A variation," he murmured. "Of the full mount."

"Oh. Oohhh!"


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Thanks for all the lovely reviews. I try to respond to each one so if I've missed any it's been accidental. Thanks also, to all the guest reviewers to whom I cannot respond personally. I appreciate all comments. Thanks to jago ji who keeps me on track. And last, but not least, thanks to JE who created them all. As always, I use them for fun and not for profit.

Chapter 14

Honesty Is Such A Lonely Word

Could the moment be any better? I was still in that floaty space between sleep and being fully awake, but I was aware of the muscled forearm just under my breasts, snuggly holding me to the muscled body behind me. And I could tell he was up for round four. Yep, we'd made love three times the night before, and each time had ended with me being so completely satiated I thought I'd never need another orgasm. I'd been wrong. I remembered my plan for distance between Ranger and myself, and I remembered thinking one time wouldn't hurt. Two hadn't hurt either. The third time I woke him from a deep sleep, but he'd been more than willing to comply. And now…

I made an attempt to roll toward him, and realized I was going to have to visit the bathroom before anything too exciting could happen. I squirmed a little, to loosen his hold, and he understood my intentions. He pulled the covers back and gave me a clear path from the bed. I was naked, and I hesitated, but only slightly. I jumped and ran into the bathroom. Finished with my business, I turned to go back to bed, but I bumped into Ranger standing in the doorway.

"Hey," he said, lifting my chin with his fingers. He bent and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

"Hey, yourself," I replied. I wanted to look down, the sight of a naked Ranger was a strong draw, but I kept my eyes trained on his face. There was something about his eyes. They were a little unfocused, but clear, and intent on his own exploration of my face. I thought maybe I was seeing a gentler, softer side of Ranger, well softer except for that one part. We were standing in close proximity, and I knew one part wasn't soft. He bent his head again and nibbled gently on the sensitive lobe of my ear. My body convulsed, and he pulled me completely into his arms. The next kiss was not gentle. It was invasive and passionate, and I responded fully.

He moved further into the bathroom and pulled me with him. "Let's take a shower," he said. "You'll remember I'm good in the shower." His smile was wide, and I wanted to jump in front of him and drag him in with me, but I shook my head.

"I can't," I said. I held up my right hand. "I've got these cast-protecting shower bag things, and I have to use them and they are a pain to get on and…" He swung me up and carried me back to the bedroom and the thought of a shower left both our minds.

Later, when I was lying on top of him, with the quilt wrapped around both of us, I saw Ranger turn and look at the clock on the bedside table. "I've got someplace I need to be this morning," he said.

"It's Sunday," I complained. "You don't have to work on Sunday, do you?"

"RangeMan is around the clock, Babe, but no, I don't have to work all day. I've got to attend to some personal business. Will you stay here? I won't be gone more than a couple of hours." I hesitated, hoping he would tell me where he was going. To see his mother again, maybe?

"Please?" he asked. I was done for.

"Yes," I said. "I'll stay."

"Would you mind if I used the shower first?" he asked, "I'm running a little late."

"Of course not," I said. "It's your shower." And I'm not an important guest. I'm just the girl you have casual sex with.

When I heard the spray of the water, I sat up in bed and wrapped my arms around my knees. He had to attend to some personal business. A man might tell his lover what the personal business was. A man might ask his lover to accompany him on his errand. A man might ask his friend and casual sex partner to wait around until he got back, for more fun. The tears started slowly, and I was unaware of them. When the deep sobbing started, I'd forgotten Ranger was just in the other room.

My mind had gone back to that day when Mary Lou called to tell me Joe Morelli had written about our Tasty Pastry liaison on a bathroom wall. And then she told me he was gone…to the Navy. I had been the last thing on his "to do" list before he'd left. I'd thought I would die, but I hadn't. But I'd never completely forgiven him either. And then, recently, when he'd called me Baby the pain had turned straight to anger and I'd left for good. All that pain was over, a part of my past…and it was nothing compared to the misery I was feeling now.

This time I was hurting so badly I forgot where I was. I forgot Ranger would be getting out of the shower and would hear and see me. And the worst part was, it was all my fault. I'd lied to Ranger. And I'd lied to myself. I told him I could handle sex without a relationship. I'd said it in his SUV in the alley behind Ulhman's. I needed to get a handle on the situation. I needed to get a grip on my emotions. I needed to be honest with myself…and Ranger.

Arms went around me and the scent of Bulgari enveloped me as Ranger pulled me to him.

"Babe?" He didn't speak again. He just held me until the sobbing morphed into the occasional body-racking shudder.

"We need to talk," I said into his shoulder. "It's my fault, all my fault, and I need to tell you. I know you have to go, but you have to come back soon, because we need to talk."

"We can talk now," he said.

"But your business…"

"…will wait." He let go of me and gently pushed my hair out of my eyes. He handed me a tissue, and I blew my nose, and realized we were both naked.

"We need to get clothes on," I said. "I can't talk naked." I thought I saw the corners of his mouth start to tilt. Even in my misery, I was amusing him. Something in my expression must have alerted him to the seriousness of the situation, because the smile never formed. He got up wordlessly from the bed and disappeared into the dressing room. He was gone only a short time, but came back into the bedroom fully dressed in his normal RangeMan uniform. He handed me a folded RangeMan shirt.

"I can get you something more substantial to wear," he said. "But I thought you might want to shower first."

"It's okay," I said. I took the t-shirt and pulled it over my head. This time when he sat on the bed he wasn't within hugging distance. I was sitting against the headboard and he was at the other end, patiently waiting for me to continue. Well, sorry, Ranger. I changed my mind. It wasn't important. We can talk later. I didn't say any of those things, but they were all running through my mind. I've known for a while, I'm not brave, and what I needed to do was going to take courage. A lot of it. I needed to be honest.

"Babe?" It was his way of prompting me, of telling me to start talking. And I knew I had to. He had someplace to go.

"Okay," I said. I took a deep breath and just let my thoughts tumble out. "The night I broke my hand, when you took me to the hospital, was the first time we'd seen each other in a little while. You were being distant from me."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you'd indicated you were ready for a serious relationship, and I knew it wasn't going to happen with me. I was giving you space to get in a solid place with Morelli."

Well, that hadn't happened. "And after I told you Joe and I were through you still kept giving me space, because you didn't believe me."

"It wasn't that I didn't believe you, Stephanie. I know you thought you were being truthful. It's just that history, yours and Joe's, would indicate you were not through."

"Oh, we are," I said. "I don't love him. Any feelings I have regarding Joe are feelings of hurt and anger, and maybe in time they will fade, but they won't be replaced by love. He's killed that. A girl can only be thrown against the wall so many times."

"He abused you?" I looked up to see Ranger's face devoid of emotion. That was a sure sign he was controlling a strong impulse.

"No," I said, hurriedly. "I was speaking figuratively. The only actual thing he did to me on a wall was write about me. And he gave details. 'For a good time, call Stephanie Plum,' wasn't enough for him. He left a description. And then he left town. My parents almost changed their phone number because of all the of guys calling and asking me out. Oh, I know it sounds kind of funny, but it was devastating.

"It doesn't sound funny."

"So, the thing is," I said, "Joe and I are not together, and we are not getting back together, but there is still something between us. He's like a bad habit for me, and I have to learn to change that habit." I waited for his input, but he remained silent.

The hard part was coming. I had to say something I didn't want to say, but some little germ of self-preservation was growing inside me and I was going to finish this thing.

"I think you were doing the right thing in keeping your distance from me. I made up my mind, yesterday, to tell you, but then last night, when I tried to go home, you wouldn't let me. And then you kissed me and I thought, one time would be okay, and it was okay, I mean, it was great, but now I'm thinking I should have, maybe, just gone home."

Ranger ran his hand through his hair. "You're asking for some space?"

My eyes filled with tears, and I leaned my head back, willing them not to fall. They fell anyway. Ranger handed me another tissue. "I'm asking for more than space. I think I'm asking for forgiveness. I lied to you. I told you I could separate love from sex, and that having sex wouldn't mess up our friendship, and I think I lied." I couldn't talk anymore. I just sat quietly, letting the tears flow and feeling like a big lump of worthless emotion. Ranger stood up from the bed and walked into the living room. I heard him on his cell phone, but I couldn't make out the words over the sound of my own crying.

When he came back into the room, he reached down and lifted me easily off the bed. He carried me back to the living room and sat in the armchair with me on his lap. "I've postponed my appointment," he said.

"Great," I said. "Now your mother will be angry with you, and that's my fault, too."

"My mother?"

"I thought you were going to take your mother to church again."

"I was going to talk to a man about a car, about several cars," he said, "but the appointment will wait. I don't think you were done yet. You have more to tell me."

"I do." I sighed. "I lied about the sex. I can't have casual sex with you. Well, I can. I can have all kinds of sex with you." I saw his eyebrow raise and I blushed. "What I mean is I can be casual or passionate, but I can't make the love go away. It just won't leave. I tried to make it leave last night, but it came back. I don't want to love you, and I don't know why I can't make it stop, but I can't. I've lied to you, and you've been honest with me since the very beginning. You said your love came with a condom…that your lifestyle wouldn't lend itself to a relationship. I'm sorry…I feel like I haven't played by the rules, like I've cheated." I sighed a deep chest-heaving sigh and was quiet. I didn't think there was anything left to say. No further words to humiliate myself. I was finished. Totally. Finally.

"My turn," Ranger said. I looked up at him. He tightened his hold on me and pulled my head to his shoulder.

"Your turn for what?" I asked.

"You've been honest with me," he said. "My turn to be honest with you." I didn't like the sound of that. I'd just finished saying things I didn't want to say. Now I was going to have to listen to things I knew I wouldn't want to hear, but I didn't think there was any way of escaping.

"Do you remember when I told you that between us I had the muscle, but you had the power?"

"Yes." I remembered. Those days had been happier for me, full of hope, attraction and excitement that I might have power over anyone, especially Ranger.

"The other night," he said, "in the SUV. I completely abandoned my professionalism. I let my need for you overrule my duty to the job. If any one of my men had taken a situation even half as far as we did, they'd be gone. No second chance. I totally lost my focus during the surveillance. That should give you some idea of the power you have over me." I was quiet, listening, and what I was hearing wasn't nearly as bad as what I'd thought I might hear. But then it changed.

"I need you, Stephanie, and I have since the day we met. I needed to be your mentor, then I needed to be your partner and then I needed to be your friend. I wanted to be your lover, but I only wanted you on my terms. I've tried, but I can't make the need go away. It just won't leave. I don't know if that's love or not. All this doesn't change anything. I don't want a relationship with you…with anyone."

"I don't understand," I began.

He interrupted. "I haven't been honest with you, but I will be now. It's not that my life wouldn't allow a relationship. I don't _want_ a relationship. I was married once and we brought an innocent child into a hostile relationship. It was my fault, and I won't do it again. I won't allow myself to be part of a situation that could deteriorate the way that one did. I want to be your lover, but more than that I need you in my life. It's your choice."

"You are asking me to choose when I just told you I can't put my feelings on the back burner while we fuck!" I said. I hadn't meant to raise my voice, and I wasn't planning on losing my temper, but things could change.

Ranger stood and set me on my feet in front of him. "I can survive without being your lover," he said, "but I won't let you slip out of my life. I can't explain why, to you, or myself, but I need you. I'm leaving now, and if you're gone when I come back I'll know we are no longer lovers. If you're here, then we will discuss the parameters of our…"

"Of our what, Ranger? Not of our relationship, I'm betting." He turned and walked out of his apartment and I was left standing in front of the armchair, alone, with his scent still on me.

I went to the bedroom and started stuffing my few possessions into my tote bag. I wasn't going to give in to desire to shower at his place. I'd do that at home. And then, on an impulse I didn't want to think about, I went into his dressing room and pulled a clean t-shirt from the shelf. I could always use an extra.

I was about to get dressed when something caught my eye. It was the blonde wig I'd worn to seduce Joe. I'd left it in Ranger's Porsche, and he'd tossed it on a closet shelf. I grabbed the wig and threw it in the trash, and then I reconsidered. I'd never be wearing it again, but I thought Lula might want it.

I silently surveyed the room where I'd both given and received so much pleasure the night before. I tried to remember everything I saw, because I was betting I wouldn't be seeing it again, any time soon. I'd been honest and Ranger had been honest, and it looked like I was going to get my space.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

It's Cryin' Time Again

The first thing I heard when I opened my apartment door was Rex's squeaky wheel. Normally, it made me feel good, knowing there was another beating heart in the apartment. I couldn't be lonely when I wasn't alone, right? Today, though, the sound of Rex didn't cheer me. I walked into my bedroom and dumped my bags on the unmade bed, taking time to pull a cast protector from one of the bags. It was designed to keep my cast dry when showering, and I was planning on taking a long shower. I looked at the verbena, coconut and lime shower gel that was sitting on the edge of the tub. It was mildly reminiscent of Ranger's Bulgari, in a feminine sort of way. That wouldn't work. I pitched it into the trash and made my way to the kitchen.

Rex stopped running and looked at me, so I took a minute to replenish his food supply. I found a half-empty bottle of liquid antibacterial soap in the cabinet under the sink and took it back to the bathroom. Five minutes later I was naked with my cast condom tightly covering my forearm and a warm spray of water flowing over me. I eyed the hand-held shower head and dismissed the thought as quickly as it had come into my mind. It was too soon. My body was still sensitized from the real thing, the Ranger thing, to even consider the hand-held shower head. I picked up the bottle of orange soap and began to scrub every aspect of Ranger from my skin.

Later, when I was dressed and had the day gaping before me, I wondered why I'd ever left RangeMan. I thought briefly about going back. I was back in my crappy apartment with my crappy car in the parking lot, but I was free. No one was lurking, trying to get at me. I could go places. Well, I couldn't go to Val's because she was stuck in the country with Lester, and I was betting Lula was still at Tank's. I couldn't go home because my mother was sure to have heard about me and Joe by now. My message light was blinking in confirmation that she'd heard, but I didn't have the strength to check it.

It was just me and Rex, and I'd better get used to it. The first tear fell and another one came right after that. And then the dam burst. I made my way back to my bedroom, pushed my bags on the floor and collapsed on the bed. I cried as pulled the covers up over me. I cried until my pillow case was sopping wet and the tissue box on the bedside table was empty. Not little sniveling tears, but deep big body-racking tears, the way someone would cry when a loved one died. When that thought crossed my mind, I felt guilty at the enormity of my pity party. Slow deep breaths brought me back to a saner place, and I began to wonder why I was crying at all. I could be at RangeMan in a much nicer bed. Ranger was probably back from his errand by this time, and I'd bet my last dollar he wasn't crying.

I finally dragged myself from the bed and went to the bathroom to take a look. I was shocked and a little scared. My hair was in wild tangles and my eyes were mere slits between puffy upper and lower lids. My nose looked like Rudolph. I didn't look like Stephanie Plum. I looked like a victim, and something inside me rebelled at that. I was not a victim, I was a survivor and I'd better start acting like one.

The doorbell rang, interrupting my self-inspection. I walked to the foyer and stood before the door, gathering courage to see who was outside. I was sure it wasn't, but sort of hoped it was Ranger. Finally, I looked through the peephole and was surprised to see Chroma. I opened the door.

"Hey," I said, as I stepped back to let her pass. "Come on in." She hesitated and remained in the doorway.

"Are you all right?" she asked. Her eyes were on my face as I nodded. "What happened?"

"I happened," I said. "I've just spent the last hour crying and," I moved my hand toward my face, "this is the result." She reached out a hand and touched my cheek and made me wish I'd taken a washcloth to the tear tracks on my face.

"Who did this to you, Stephanie? Who caused you this pain?"

I sighed. "I did this, but it's okay," I assured her. "I'm not about to self-destruct, even though I probably look like it."

"Sorry," she said. "Maybe I should have called, but I was on my way back home and I just stopped in hoping you'd be here. I was free to leave last night, but Woody and I sat around talking so late I decided to stay until this morning."

"It's okay," I said. "I just got home this morning, myself."

"Did you and Ranger have a late night, too?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, "and an early morning as well. We did some talking of our own." I wondered what kind of talking she and Woody did. She'd been spending a lot of time with him, and I knew he was attracted to her. I'd seen the evidence with my own eyes when he'd dropped me off at the safe house the day before. Maybe I was being silly thinking she had a thing for Ranger.

"Come on in and sit down," I said, as I motioned for her to enter the living room.

"I don't think I'd better stay," she said. "It doesn't look like you need company right now." She was eyeing my hair, and I self-consciously pushed it back from my face.

"I do need company," I said. "I don't need to spend any more time with my own thoughts. Would you like something to drink?" We sat opposite one another, me in the armchair and Chroma on the sofa. "I think I have a couple of sodas in the fridge."

"No, thanks," Chroma said. "I need to get back to my place and get ready for the next work week, and I also need to reschedule some of my clients. I'm giving up almost all of them, but I still want to train Valerie and Lula, and—well, the reason I stopped by is to say, I'd like to train you, Stephanie."

"Oh. I don't know," I said. I tried to think of a good way to say no, without hurting her feelings. "It's just that I'm not big on exercise classes…"

"I know," she said, interrupting my feeble attempt to find an excuse. "You said yesterday you weren't really a group joiner. That's why I want to train you individually. I really enjoyed our BJJ exercise yesterday," she said. "I'd like to continue."

Again I hesitated. "I just don't know, Chroma. I don't think I'd be very effective with this cast on."

"That's true," she said, but she quickly reconsidered. "Next week, when I start on the late shift, I'm going to run with Valerie and Lula. Would you like to run with us? That might be an easy way to start."

Running was something I never wanted to do, but I wasn't the only one who didn't enjoy running. "Valerie and Lula are going to run?" I questioned. "I've never known either one of them to run."

"Val's an athlete, and she's a natural. I think she could be a great distance runner. I think you could be a runner, too." She seemed hopeful, maybe even a little eager for me to say yes.

"Okay," I conceded. "I'll give it a try, when it fits into my schedule…the running, I mean. I'll have to think about the other, the Brazilian stuff. Maybe after my cast comes off I'll do it." It was a good as I could give her at that moment, but it seemed to be enough. She looked pleased at my response.

We sat in silence for a moment before I reoffered a drink. Chroma shook her head and slid forward, her eyes taking in my disheveled appearance. "I really need to get back to my apartment," she said. "But are you sure you're okay?"

It was my turn to shake my head, and, unbelievably, I felt the plop of a tear on my cheek. I didn't think I had any left in me. "No," I said. "I'm not okay, but I probably will be. It's just the more I think about it, the more upset I get."

"I can see you're hurting. Do you want to talk about it?"

Did I? I didn't know Chroma all that well, but she had certainly opened up to me the day before. Did I owe her the same courtesy? Would I feel better if I dumped out all my anger at Ranger? I didn't know if I could even speak coherently about it. For years I'd heard him say he couldn't do relationships, but the truth was he could. I'd imagined maniacal madmen, lurking in hidden places, ready to do harm to Ranger or those he loved. He'd said his lifestyle didn't lend itself to relationships, but apparently that wasn't quite true. The bald truth was that loving me in his own way meant not loving me enough to break his own self-imposed rule. That was a painful revelation.

I looked over to see Chroma, her face full of concern, waiting patiently for me to tell her why I was so upset. "I don't know if I can be coherent," I said. "I'm just dealing with a lot of hurt and anger. I'll work my way through it, but right now it's just a little raw."

"I understand," Chroma said.

"It's just that, finally, I thought I'd found someone who thought I was good enough. And now, I guess I'm not." I stood and went in search of a tissue. When I came back, Chroma was standing as well. She came across the room and enveloped me in a big hug. She stepped back and said, "I'll leave you alone, then."

We walked together to the door, and I stood watching as she walked down the hall toward the stairs. Before she started down she turned and said, "Joe Morelli needs to be punished for hurting you this way."

My mouth dropped open, but no words came out. She thought Morelli was responsible for the shape I was in. "I, ah…" Before I could formulate the words she was down the steps and out of sight. Maybe it was for the best. I'd been tempted to pour my heart out to her, but what was between Ranger and I probably should stay between us.

I went back into my apartment and aimed the remote at the TV. I sat on the sofa and channel surfed until I found an old rerun of Dog the Bounty Hunter, and I lost myself in the TV make-believe version of my job. My eyelids were not only swollen, they were heavy and I remembered the events of the night before that had kept me from sleep. I shook my head to ward off the drowsiness and refocused on the show.

When I woke it was almost dark in the apartment and the TV was off. I looked across the room to see Ranger in my armchair. "What are you doing here?" I asked, groggily.

"I didn't think we were done talking this morning," he said. "I, at least, have more to say, but I thought things were getting a little heated so I decided to wait."

Heated. He was referring to my temper outburst at the end of our conversation. I sat up straight and saw his eyes shift to the left and then the right of my face. I reached a tentative hand up. My hair was mostly horizontal extending on both sides. I groaned at the mental image as I got up and went in search of my hairbrush. I found it on my dresser and began my newly developed one and a half handed brushing technique.

I stood looking into the mirror silently cursing my curls, i.e. frizz. Ranger stepped behind me and took the brush from my hands. He turned and looked at the bed. Nope, I thought, ain't gonna happen. He must have had the same thought because he took my hand and led me from the bedroom out to the dining table where he pulled out a chair and motioned for me to sit.

Ranger is a big strong guy, but he can be gentle when the situation calls for it, and this situation called for it. His soft, non-tugging brush strokes relaxed me in a way similar, but less pleasurable to the way he'd relaxed me the night before. I sat quietly while he worked my hair into soft curls.

I was about halfway between sleep and full arousal when he leaned forward and placed the brush on the table. "Do you want it tied back?" he asked. I gave a small shake of my head.

"No, this way is okay. Thanks, that felt…nice."

"You're welcome."

"Why are you here, Ranger?"

He didn't answer immediately. Instead he held out his hand to me, and I placed my good hand in his. He pulled me to my feet, and we stood face to face next to the table.

"I think you issued an ultimatum this morning. I thought we should be explicit about where we stand with one another," he said.

"You're dead wrong, Ranger." His words "where we stand with one another" echoed in my mind. Stupidly, all I could think is we're standing by the table. I tried to refocus. "_You_ issued an ultimatum," I said, "not me. You said stay and be my fuck buddy, or get out. I got out—and not because I didn't want to stay."

Because, I had wanted to stay. And now, standing next to him I could see the tension that tightened his full lips into a thin scar across his beautiful face. I could see the desire in his eyes, and I figured he could see something similar in mine. This was the time to be strong, and I wasn't sure I had it in me.

"I left because I need time to figure out if I can handle your terms," I continued. "You say you don't need to be my lover, as long as I'm still in your life. I don't know how that will work for me." I looked down, breaking our eye contact. The connection was too intense. "I think I'm just tired of not being enough." My voice had quieted and I heard my own uncertainty as I spoke. "I have to figure that out."

"What do you mean, not being enough?" he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I wasn't enough for Dickie, so he found Joyce. I wasn't enough for Morelli, so he found his 'Baby'. And now it seems I'm not enough for you. You love me, you want me in your life, but only on your terms." I found the courage to look up again and met his gaze, which had never left my face. "I'm not enough, and I need to figure out what's wrong with me, why I'm not enough. At least you've been honest about my shortcomings."

He grabbed me by the arms. His expression was fierce, and I felt a frisson of fear. On the one hand, this was Ranger and he wouldn't hurt me, but on the other hand he looked like he wanted to kill me. I'd seen the look before, although never directed toward me, and I knew I was getting a glimpse of the emotion behind his normally calm façade.

"What shortcomings?" he asked quietly. Too quietly.

"My shortcomings," I repeated, "that allow you to love me in your own way, that allow you to keep me in your life, without making me an important part of it."

"Don't ever say you're not enough. Did you ever think it's not your shortcomings, but my inadequacy? Don't _ever_ say you're not enough." His words were clipped, as if getting them out took a supreme effort.

"Then quit treating me as though I'm not!" I quelled the urge to stomp on his foot. We stood staring at each other for a few seconds. Was it my imagination, or was there just the slightest flicker of hurt in his eyes?

He let go of me and walked toward the door. I panicked. I didn't want him to go. Even as he turned from me, I missed his touch. I looked at his back where he stood motionless in front of the door. I remembered the night before, his generosity, his tenderness and his passion. I remembered his lips touching me in intimate places and the brush of his five o'clock shadow against my skin. My hand unconsciously slid over the abraded spot on my inner thigh and I pulled my arms up, wrapping them around myself to control the tremor. What was I doing, letting him walk away? I needed him no matter what his conditions, and I opened my mouth to tell him.

He turned back to me with liquid brown eyes, shining despite the dimness of the apartment. "I think you're right, Babe. We need to pull back on this. Maybe some time apart will give us a better perspective." He opened the door and was gone, before I could respond.


	16. Chapter 16

_**A/N: I use them not for profit, but for fun—and boy, am I having fun!**_

Chapter 16

A One-Way Gate

Life as a bounty hunter means one day is pretty much like the next. Life as a RangeMan researcher means every week has a Monday, and this Monday was going to be a tough one. Ranger had said we needed to pull back. I thought about pulling so far back that I stayed at home, but something inside me, possibly pride, made me haul myself out of bed and show up on time. I had no idea how the day would go, but I was determined to see it through to the end.

I tossed my purse in one of the lower desk drawers and then turned my attention to an envelope waiting for me on the desk top. It was my new log-in with instruction to set up a secure password. I got busy right away and kept my attention mostly focused on the screen in front of me. Mostly. My peripheral vision was working overtime. Today, I was aware of my surroundings.

My desk was on the aisle, which I usually considered advantageous, because it gave me a good view of the entrances to both Tank and Ranger's offices. I also had a good view of the break room, and if I sat up very straight I could see the front most part of the control room. Ranger's office was dark, but it looked like Tank was already at work. My goal for the day was to show Ranger I was cool, calm and in control.

I'd already completed my first search, a simple credit check on a potential residential customer, when a black cargoe'd ass plopped itself down on the corner of my desk.

"Hi, Beautiful. How's it hanging?"

I rolled my eyes. "Everything of mine is hanging just fine, Lester. How about you? Are you glad to be back from the Fortress of Solitude? How's my sister?"

"Val's fine," he said. "I dropped her off at her house this morning, and she said the girls will be back from Albert's mother today."

"I heard you guys were flooded in. That must have been the pits. How'd you while away the time?"

"Whaddaya mean?" Lester asked.

"I mean, what did you guys do to keep busy? I can't imagine you and Valerie would have much in common."

"We didn't have any problems," Lester replied. "I had chores to do, and Val caught up on her reading. She's quite the reader. What about you? Did you read any good books when you were staying with Ranger?" I ignored him, but he didn't take the hint. "C'mon, Beautiful. Give me details. How'd you and Ranger while away the weekend?"

I looked up at him and saw the smirk on his face. He was trying to get a rise out of me, and I wasn't going to play along. "I've got work to do, Lester. Don't you have someplace you need to be?"

"Yeah. I pulled Chroma duty today. I'm waiting for her to show up and then I'm going to teach her everything I know."

"What are you doing the second hour?" I asked pseudo-sweetly. "And how come she gets to come in late?"

"Late?" he asked. "She's not late. She's sparring with Ranger this morning and half the guys are down in the gym watching."

I attempted to shove his butt off my desk. "Why don't you go watch?" I asked. "It sounds like something you'd want to see."

"Nope, not me," he said. "I don't want to be there if Ranger gets his ass kicked."

"Like that would happen," I scoffed.

"Probably it won't" he agreed. "But it could. She's got a killer instinct. I could tell that from the way she took ole Lonnie Murdoch down. I imagine in the right circumstances, she'd be very dangerous."

"You should be a happy man today," I said. "I imagine there are worse jobs than training Chroma."

"Plenty," Lester agreed.

"Why don't you remove your backside from my desk, then," I said, "and let me get back to work while you go practice the moves you'll put on Chroma."

"Hah," Lester said, not bothering to move. "I won't be putting any moves on her."

"Why not," I asked. "She's attractive and available. Just your type." I made another abortive shove in an attempt to remove him from my desk.

"She's hot, all right," Lester said. "But she's not my type. She's…"

"Santos!" We both looked up to see Tank standing in the doorway of his office. "Get your ass in here and explain this expense report, now." He turned and disappeared into his office.

Lester slid off the desk and with a "Later, Beautiful," sauntered toward Tank's office clearly not intimidated by the command.

I worked without interruption for the next fifteen minutes and then went in search of coffee. Lester had disrupted my concentration, and now I needed something to help me get back on track. I wanted a donut, but I knew I wouldn't find one in the break room. I settled for a raisin bagel. I was about to make my way back to my desk when Vince and Woody walked in. They were involved in an animated discussion, and I openly eavesdropped.

"She's amazing," Woody said. "We saw her use Systema the other night, and today she showed off her Aikido moves and Judo, and that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was awesome."

"Yeah," Vince agreed. "She's had remarkable training. It's a Russian influence, I think, but she said she's had some experience with Krav Maga as well. She's a master at turning an opponent's size against him. I wouldn't want to meet that chick in a dark alley."

I immediately looked at Woody. He met my stare and blushed. Yep, he'd figured out it was my underwear. "So," I said, "did she kick his butt?"

They laughed. I didn't think I was being funny. "No way," Vince said. "But she gave him a good workout, for sure. It's not impossible to take Ranger down, but nearly. He's got skills other people just don't have."

"Like what?" I asked, interested even though I didn't want to be.

"Control," Woody said. "Un-freaking-believable control. And he has this eerie way of sensing a move before it's thrown."

Ranger and his legendary control. I knew it well. It wasn't fear of retribution from old enemies that kept him from relationships. It was his control. His ability to maintain stupid promises he'd made to himself. His ability to put his wants and desires on permanent hold. But he couldn't control his need. He had a need for me, by his own admission. Vince had said it wasn't impossible to take him down, but nearly. I was focused on the nearly.

When Ranger had first told me he didn't do relationships, I hadn't pushed it. He was scary, and not the kind of guy I'd take home to mom and dad. But as I began to know him better, I'd lost the fear. He was kind, generous and very supportive of me. I can't say when, for certain, I knew I loved him, but it was something that had happened fairly quickly. It had been impossible to push the relationship thing, knowing he was the way he was in order to protect those close to him from the dangers of his past life. And then, of course, there was Joe. I had, until recently, hoped that Joe and I would work out, somehow.

Now, there was no Joe and no threat from old enemies. I suddenly realized the rules of the game had changed, and I was betting Ranger had no idea. There was no reason I couldn't pursue a relationship with him, no matter what he thought he wanted. I needed to use the clue Woody had inadvertently given me. That eerie sense of ESP. Ranger knew me completely. He could anticipate my reaction to almost any circumstance. I was just going to have to change the way I reacted, the way I responded to him. And even though it was nearly impossible — I. Would. Take. Him. Down.

I ate the raisins off the last piece of my bagel and tossed it in the trash. I drained my coffee and rinsed out the mug. "Back to work for me, boys," I said to Woody and Vince as I left the room.

It wasn't much later that the smell of Bulgari wafted through the air and a second set of black cargos dusted the corner of my desk. I looked up to see Chroma, her white blond hair spikey, and still damp from a shower. Her face was glowing and even with no makeup she was arrestingly attractive.

"Thank you so much, Stephanie," she said. "I love this job, and I owe it all to you."

"Um, you're welcome," I said. I was having trouble finding words. She'd just showered, and she smelled like Ranger. She had showered on seven. It was the only explanation, and my newly formed resolve to win Ranger nearly died on the spot. I was the only one Ranger allowed in his private space…until now. So maybe it wasn't just Chroma who had eyes for Ranger. Maybe Ranger was already looking for his next partner, now that we were by his own words, "having time apart."

I realized she was still talking, and I tried to listen. When it became obvious she was waiting for a response from me, I smiled wryly. "I'm sorry, I got lost there. My mind is still on this research I'm doing."

"Don't apologize," she said. "Lester's in dropping some receipts off for Tank, and then I'll be working, too. I was just telling you Valerie and Lula and I are going to start running tonight. You should join us."

"I'll think about it," I said. Lester came out of Tank's office, and Chroma slid from the desk to go meet him. As soon as they were off the floor I pulled out my phone and called Lula.

"Hello, _achoo, achoo._"

"Can you do lunch?" I asked.

"You bet I can. I want to talk to you, and I need some Cluck-in-a-Bucket. I'll burn it off tonight when we exercise."

"Well, about that…"

"You're coming along," she said. "It'll be fun. I'll pick you up at noon, and we'll bring lunch back for Connie. Vinnie's out of the office today so she can't leave."

Cluck-in-a-Bucket at the bonds office with Connie and Lula. My day was looking a little brighter.

A few hours later, sitting in the bonds office with the trash from our lunch littering Connie's desk, I felt good, as if everything was back to normal. It made me realize just how much I needed a little normal in my life.

"I'm glad you called," Lula said. "I been wantin' to talk to you. I made an appointment with that allergy doctor Val told me about. They said I'd need to bring a driver 'cause they might have to medicate me after they test me. You know, in case I'm allergic and swell up."

"Sure," I said. "I'm taking it this means things are going well with Tank."

"They're going great all right," Connie said. "If I have to hear her talk about it one more time, I'll throw up, and with the chicken I just ate that wouldn't be good."

"Hunh. You have no appreciation for all the detail I'm giving you. I'm just gonna start savin' it for Stephanie."

"No, don't do that," I said. "I'm working at RangeMan now, and I have to see Tank every day. I don't think I should know private things about him."

"You got a point," Lula said. "So what's new with you and Batman? We don't work with Ranger, so we don't see him every day, so you can tell us all the details."

"Yeah," Connie said. "Those are some details I'd _like_ to hear."

"It's complicated," I said. They both sat, wide-eyed, and waited. I sighed and gave into the temptation to spill my guts. I told them about my desire for a relationship, and Ranger's steadfast refusal to consider it. I told them about the men finding my underwear in the alley and how their talk had affected me. And I told them that for the time being there was nothing else to tell.

The lunch hour was over way too fast. "I've got to get back," I told Lula. "I agreed to put in eight hours every day, and people will notice if I'm not back from lunch on time."

As we made our way down Hamilton, away from the bonds office Lula reached over to the stereo and turned the sound down. That was unusual because she never drove without the radio or a CD playing at top volume. I looked over at her.

"Okay, Stephanie," she said. "Spill it. I know there's more to the story."

"You're right," I said. "There's a lot more to the story. It's Ranger and Chroma."

"What about Ranger and Chroma?"

"They're not together yet," I said, "but they will be."

"Nuh uh!" Lula said.

"It's true," I insisted. "I've seen him look at her. He likes her and today they sparred together and he let her shower at his apartment. I'm the only one he ever lets shower in his apartment, until now." I hated the pitiful little whine in my voice, but I couldn't help it. "And the way she looks at him! It's gonna happen, Lula. I know it."

"It's not gonna happen," Lula said.

"It is. Now that Ranger and I are off, he'll find someone else to…well, to fulfill his needs."

"Yeah, I could see that," Lula said. "He probably had someone to fulfill his needs when you were with Morelli, but bein' he's the man of mystery an' all, we'll never know. But he won't be fulfilling any needs with Chroma."

"He will," I said with morose certainty. "She's got a huge crush on him."

"She's got a huge crush on someone at RangeMan," Lula said, "but it ain't Ranger."

"You're wrong," I insisted.

"I'm right," Lula said. "I thought you'd have figured this out by now, Stephanie. It ain't Ranger she's after. Her gate don't swing that way. It's you she wants."

"What?" I said. Lula was speaking nonsense, wasn't she?

"It's you," Lula said again. "She knows you don't normally go for women, but she can't help herself. She _likes_ you."

"Well, I don't, I mean…" I stammered, letting the full realization of Lula's words sink in. "Her gate must swing both ways. She_ likes_ Ranger. I can tell."

"I talked to her just this morning," Lula said. "She told me Ranger was like a brother to her. And then she told me you were going to run with us tonight. She was real excited. I hope you're not leading her on."

"Leading her on?" I asked. I blushed at the sudden memory of the full mount, of the gentle way she'd stroked my neck when she said she could get me a body parts modeling job. "Oh, no," I said. "I haven't led her on. She's fully aware I like men."

"Yeah, you're right," Lula said. "I guess she does know that. She still likes you though, but I guess you could just be friends…without benefits." Lula laughed. "I can't believe you didn't know," she said.

"Does Ranger know this?" I asked.

"I dunno," Lula said, "but Lester knows. He found out the day of the distraction. I think when she told him, he was plenty distracted."

"How do you know this?" I asked.

"Tank told me. He thought it was real funny that Lester made a move and got shot down." So Tank knew. Ranger probably knew. Why hadn't I known?

"The thing is," Lula continued, "I promised not to tell you Chroma thinks you're hot. An' I wouldn't usually break a confidence, but I'm thinking it was something you need to know."

Lula pulled up in front of the RangeMan building and let me out, but she had one last parting salvo. "Her gate just swings one way. She's a lesbian. But maybe she's hoping your gate swings both ways. You better make sure she knows it don't."


	17. Chapter 17

**_I use them for fun and not for profit._**

Chapter 17

Opposite Shores

The hour-long lunch I'd spent with Lula and Connie had been fun. The ten minute ride back with Lula had been mind-blowing. As I sat at my desk, my fingers worked on auto pilot, logging in and going through the motion of simple searches. It was fortunate that everything in my work pile was full of what I thought of as grunt work, because my mind wouldn't have been capable of doing anything complicated. For the first hour after I returned it was an unending mantra. Chroma is gay. Chroma is gay. It was as if my mind was an electronic banner with only one news flash. "Chroma is gay."

When the astonishment wore off, I began to wonder what that news meant to me, personally. I spent time revisiting my memories of Chroma and her behavior to me as well as to Ranger. It seemed I had misinterpreted many things. One thing that still bothered me was the fact that Ranger had allowed her access to his apartment. He must feel very strongly toward Chroma. He had been close to Ant, so maybe he felt close to Chroma, responsible for her, even.

A big fear I'd been harboring could now be laid to rest. Chroma and Ranger wouldn't be having sex. Knowledge of that fact eased the anxiety I'd been feeling and made me, retrospectively, feel a little bad about my jealousy. And how would I treat Chroma? Would this make a difference in the way we interacted? I didn't see any more Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in our future. To be honest, I hadn't really planned on continuing the training even before I'd discovered her sexual preferences and her crush on me, but now I had an excuse. Sort of. There was no way I could say, "Sorry, Chroma. No more full mount, because I'm just not into that."

I looked up at the wall clock and was surprised to see the afternoon was almost over. Sometime during my preoccupation with Chroma, Ranger had entered his office. I'd completely missed him, which was unusual, because normally I was very sensitive to his presence. Maybe he'd entered quietly because he was avoiding me. I could understand that, because I didn't want to see him either. I was afraid I'd make a fool of myself, but then I remembered I was the new Stephanie. The one whose moves and attitudes were meant to be Ranger ESP-proof.

I pushed back from my chair and walked to his office, pausing briefly to knock on his door. He was looking up from his work as if he'd expected me. So much for the anti-ESP. I leaned against the door frame and tried for casual, as I attempted to cross my arms against my stomach. I ended up with my good arm supporting my casted arm. All in all, it was not the smooth move of nonchalance I'd tried for. I saw Ranger's eyes slide to the cast and linger for a moment before they returned to my face.

"I need to ask a favor," I said. There was a slight lift of one dark brow. Oh. My. Gosh. His eyes were beautiful. Dark brown, rimmed with thick lashes and framed with clean arched brows that most women would spend big bucks in a threading chair to achieve. Small shallow crinkle lines at the corners, but not from laughing. He didn't smile enough for that. They were probably from sun exposure when he'd been in one of those places he didn't talk about.

"Babe?"

"Oh, sorry," I said, startled by his voice out of the pleasurable hypnosis of soaking him in. "I need to take Thursday afternoon off. Lula has an appointment with an allergy doctor. You know...the cat thing, and they told her to bring a driver."

"You don't need to ask permission."

"Don't I? I thought I needed to be here precisely at 8:00 a.m. and stay until 5:00 p.m."

"This isn't high school. You don't need a hall pass," Ranger said. "You might want to tell someone you're leaving, but you don't need permission. Tell Rodriguez."

"Ha," I said, "like he really exists."

"He's usually in his office," Ranger said. It was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

"His office is the room at the back of the research area, on the left."

"Okay, thanks." I turned to go in search of the mysterious Rodriguez, but quickly turned back. An unStephanie-like thought had occurred to me, and I thought maybe I should verbalize it.

"Ranger." This time he looked up from his work. He hadn't expected me to turn back around. "You look really good today," I said. "Listening to the guys talk this morning I thought maybe you'd be all bruised up. I'm glad Chroma didn't hurt you too bad." I grinned, because I thought I'd surprised him, and then I went on my quest to find Rodriguez.

Rodriguez's office was empty. A burly guy at the desk closest to the office door called out, "He's in the break room." I hurried to the break room to find it empty as well. I sighed, gave up and returned to my desk to see I had been visited by Rodriguez during my absence.

I paged through the stack of folders and found most of them to be background checks on potential new residential customers. Apparently, RangeMan was growing its upscale residential business. It would have been nice if that information could have come from Ranger instead of from my deduction based on my search work. Another potential relationship hurdle. The man didn't talk.

I sat down, mentally cursing Joe Morelli for my broken hand and the need to do this work to pay the rent. I was determined to vet as many potential new customers as I could before the end of the day. I'd made a decent effort to whittle down the stack when I noticed people around me getting ready to leave. I was again surprised to see the day had passed as quickly as it had.

I was in the process of logging off when my phone rang. It was Lula. "I'm picking you up at seven, sharp. Wear something comfortable to run in."

"I don't know, Lula. I don't really…"

"You're coming. Now that you're sitting at a desk all day, you need to exercise. And besides this will be a good way to get used to Chroma, now that you know she likes you. You don't want to start acting all funny around her or she might figure out I told you…and that wouldn't be good for me, 'cause I promised her I wouldn't."

She had a point on both counts. My jeans snapped just fine, but I wanted to keep them that way, and I had to face Chroma sometime. "All right," I said. "Is Val coming, too?"

"Yeah. We're gonna run on the track at the gym so Chroma can study our form and help us get our muscles warmed up. Besides, it's still getting dark pretty early. She says we will run outside once she gets on second shift. Then we can do it in the morning." Oh, joy. I didn't break it to Lula, but this was a one-time thing for me. I didn't plan on becoming a regular runner.

As I stood next to Lula and watched Val and Chroma walk across the parking lot ahead of us, I was once again surprised by Valerie's appearance. She walked with a spring to her step, as if she was really excited to exercise. I was less enthusiastic, but I was committed to running because of the reasons Lula had mentioned earlier in the day.

We waited inside the door while Chroma went to make sure our running lanes on the elevated track were reserved, I took a good long look at my co-runners. Lula was wearing her typical spandex. Black leggings with a sequined black t-shirt that hugged every generous curve. I hoped she had a good support bra on or running would be painful for her. I looked down at my chest. I didn't have that problem. Her shoes were black also and looked brand new. My shoes were cross-trainers, not new and splattered with spaghetti sauce from a capture gone very wrong.

My attention turned to Val, who interrupted my perusal of her running attire with a remark that made me cringe. "Mother wants to talk to you. If you don't call her soon she's going to come to your apartment."

"Great," I said. "You think she'd have more to worry about than my love life."

"Personally, I'm grateful she worries about your love life," Valerie said with a grin. "It keeps her focus off me."

"Good point," I said, grinning back. "Maybe I'll tell her you spent a long weekend with a merry man. Then she'll be leaving voice mails on your phone."

"Oh, please," Val said. "I'm barely divorced. Mom knows I'm not ready for another man, especially one as, um, virile as Lester."

"Val," I said, a little hesitantly. "I asked Lester how the weekend went and he said fine. He didn't…" He wouldn't, I was sure of it. Valerie, even looking as good as she did now, just wasn't his type, but I had to ask. "He didn't try anything, did he?"

"Oh, my goodness, no," she said. "He was a perfect gentleman. Very professional and very throrough in his protection of my safety."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Chroma standing behind me. She was looking every inch the serious trainer, both in attire and in attitude. "Let's go, girls. We've got the track for an hour." So, we went. Valerie was bouncing with excitement at the opportunity to exercise. Lula was humming "Eye of The Tiger," and I lagged behind, my eyes on the wall clock, dismayed by the fact that only a couple of minutes had ticked by.

The hour wasn't quite the torture I'd thought it would be. Chroma was all business, but Lula and Valerie actually had me laughing, and I know they were amused by the sweating mess I had turned into by the end of our time. As we crossed the finish line for the last time Chroma clapped loudly. "You guys did great," she said. "That last session was a half mile and you all ran it straight out, without walking in between. That's wonderful for beginners."

"A half mile?" Lula asked. "I thought we did a half marathon."

"Not tonight," Chroma said. "But you're all capable of it, with a little more training."

"I'm going to train for a full marathon," Valerie said. "This is fun."

"What about you, Stephanie? Did you think it was fun?" Chroma looked at my sweat-soaked t-shirt. I was thinking she already knew my answer.

"I don't think it was exactly fun," I said. "But if I'm being honest, I do feel a small sense of accomplishment. I ran a half mile steadily and I didn't throw up."

"Damn skippy," Lula said. "I'm gonna run that half marathon. Tank will be proud of me."

"I think maybe we'd better start with something a little shorter," Chroma said. "There is a 5K in a few weeks. It's a color run, so it won't be too serious. It might be a good race to train for."

"Count me in," Lula said.

"Me, too," Valerie echoed.

Then three sets of eyes turned toward me. "How about it, Stephanie?" Chroma asked. I saw Lula's eyes narrow. She was sending me an overt message and against my better judgment, I listened.

"Sure," I said with false enthusiasm. "Count me in, too."

"Great," Chroma said. Her smile was broad. "Over the next couple of days I'll map out some running courses and make a practice schedule for you. This will be a big boost to your workout programs." Her last comment was directed toward Valerie and Lula. She turned toward me, but I remained silent. I was trying to act around her as I had acted before I knew. I didn't want to work out and hadn't made a commitmentto do so. I'd tolerate the running, but that was as far as I was prepared to go.

As I pulled into the parking lot behind my apartment building, I remembered lunch earlier in the day. That little island of normalcy seemed so far away. In the intervening hours I'd learned Chroma was gay, had strong feelings for me, and I'd voluntarily agreed to run in a 5K to keep from disappointing her. It came to me all at once. Chroma and I were in the same boat, even if we were rowing toward opposite shores.

Our situations weren't identical, but they were close. We both wanted someone we couldn't have. Well, technically, I could have Ranger, but not in the way I wanted. Chroma would never have me in the way she wanted. If she'd settle for friendship, I could do that. I thought I was fairly liberal in my beliefs, but in my personal life, I was completely heterosexual, and lately monosexual. There had been a time when I thought I was in love with both Ranger and Joe, but that time was past. Ranger was it for me. I wanted no other.

I hoped what Chroma felt for me was just a crush, something that would fade. I hoped that she would meet someone she could form a permanent, intimate relationship with. Her life had been hard. She was in a foreign country with a new identity. Her brother had been killed, and she'd had to run for her life. She deserved some happy, but not with me. I'd been jealous of her, of the way she'd seamlessly integrated herself into RangeMan, like she was just one of the guys. That made more sense now. I'd been jealous of the attention she'd received from Ranger, but I'd been off-base on that one, too, assuming he did know she was gay.

Maybe it was guilt left over from those feelings of jealousy, but I was going to try hard to maintain a friendship with Chroma. I'd make sure she knew there would be nothing sexual between us, even if I wasn't quite sure how I'd accomplish that.

I opened my car door and stepped into the cool spring night air. The rain was out of the forecast, finally. Had it been less than a week ago when I'd punched Joe? It didn't seem possible. My life had gone from okay, to horrible, to great, to really horrible and back to…what? Hopeful? I was a little hopeful for Ranger and me. I'd implemented my plan to be less predictable with him. I'd work on it each day, for as long as I was at RangeMan. Once I went back to work for Vinnie I wouldn't be seeing him on a daily basis.

In the spirit of embracing the exercise, I walked the flight of stairs to the second floor. I put my key in the lock and awkwardly turned it left-handed. Strong warm fingers covered my hand and pushed the door inward. The scent of Bulgari wrapped around me. I turned and looked over my shoulder.

"Where'd you come from?" I said.

"Your parking lot. I followed you up the stairs. I have something I want to talk to you about." Last night he'd said we needed some time apart. And now here he was. This was looking good, wasn't it?


	18. Chapter 18

_**A/N: I use them for fun and not for profit**_

Chapter 18

Stepping Back For More

I looked down at my t-shirt. It was damp with a sweat stain that vaguely resembled the map of New Jersey. Trenton was sitting just to the left of my right breast. Ranger smelled really good, and I just really smelled. I shrugged my shoulders and motioned to him to follow me into my apartment. He came to visit without warning and said he wanted to talk. There was a part of me that wanted to be upset because he'd caught me looking so frumpy and feeling so hot and sticky. The other part of me, the part that was aiming for the unexpected, decided just to go with it.

"Sorry if I'm a little, um, stinky," I said. "I just spent the last hour running with Val and Lula. Chroma is training us for a 5K." If he was surprised at that remark, he didn't show it.

"I'm thirsty," I said. I walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge door. "Do you want a bottle of water?"

"No," he replied. He hadn't followed me into the kitchen. Instead, I found him in my bedroom looking out the window and beyond the fire escape. He turned as he heard me enter. "I've got something to discuss with you. I won't be here long."

"Okay." I turned and walked from my bedroom. I had some weird strong-girl kind of thing going on. I didn't think Ranger was here to seduce me. I didn't get that vibe at all, but I wasn't going to spend any more time with him in my bedroom than necessary. I didn't know quite how he thought I'd react to him after he'd dropped his "I want no relationship" bombshell, but I was determined to act differently. If I stayed in the bedroom I might be tempted to trip him and then beat his fall onto the bed. Maybe that's what he was expecting after all, but he wouldn't be getting it. I plopped myself down on the sofa and waited. He was obviously looking at something in my parking lot.

He walked back into the living room a few seconds later. "Come outside with me," he said. "There's something I want to show you." I went without hesitation. Ranger knew me, and he knew I was insatiably curious, but I wasn't going to ask any questions. We took the stairs down to the parking lot exit and I walked behind him, out into the early evening air. It was about the same time in the evening as it had been when we'd gone to watch the distraction and that made me stop and think about the happenings of the last few days.

"Earth to Stephanie." I looked up to see a slightly smiling Ranger, and I let myself be drawn back to the present. When I looked at the parking lot, I noticed two things simultaneously. My car was gone and in its place was a silver Panamera so shiny it almost glowed in the dim evening light. And next to the Panamera was a beautiful black Porsche 911 Turbo S. I remembered Sunday morning. "I was going to talk to a man about a car, about several cars," he'd said. I knew I was looking at two of the cars.

"I have a proposition for you," Ranger said. "I want you to stay on at RangeMan after your hand is healed."

"And you are bribing me with a car?" I asked.

"Babe."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I was just wondering what had happened to my car."

"I had Howdy take it to RangeMan. It needs some work, like a muffler and new tires. I'm getting that done for you."

"Thanks," I said. I wanted to refuse his generosity, but that would be old Stephanie. "You can take the repair bill out of my paycheck. So, this car is a loaner?" I raised my eyebrow in what I hoped was a questioning manner. Instead of answering Ranger reached in his pocket and pulled out a key fob. He beeped the doors of the Panamera unlocked and motioned for me to get into the driver's seat. I did. He slid into the passenger seat. The car had that new-car smell that was familiar, indescribable and sexy. The dark interior was roomy but seemed ridiculously intimate with Ranger next to me.

"I want you to stay on at RangeMan," he said again. "I have a slightly different position in mind for you than what you are doing now. And I wouldn't ask you to give up Vinnie's. I'd just want a commitment of a few hours a week and you could pick your hours, to some extent."

"And the position requires the use of this car?"

"It does," he said. "I'd like you to visit our residential clients by appointment, to go over their contracts and ascertain their satisfaction with RangeMan."

"I didn't realize you had that many residential clients," I said.

"A relatively small percentage of our clientele is residential. And they are upscale homes, hence this car. I want you to put a face on the RangeMan residential service. I'm only intending for you to have one or two appointments a week on an ongoing basis. There would occasionally be extra hours for training. We upgrade frequently, and you'll have to be an expert on the systems we install."

"No 8:00 a.m. start?" I asked.

"No, I'd give you freedom to work your own schedule, but that's if you accept the job. There will be a vendor in town next week, and if you agree to do this, you'll need to start training with the three main vendors we use. In the meantime, you can continue working for Rodriguez. While you are training and as long as you do searches, your hours would be mandated. After that you'd be free to set your own appointment schedule."

"So if I take the job, I start driving this car?"

"Yes."

"Ranger, you can't give me a sports car to drive around. What would the guys think?" The image of my torn and soggy panties swinging from Woody's fingers flashed briefly to the forefront of my mind. I knew what they'd think.

"It's not a sports car. It's a sedan, and they'd think you were driving a vehicle appropriate for the RangeMan Residential Account Manager."

Yes, yes, yes! This was a great opportunity. I'd be a part of RangeMan on a permanent basis. I could hang out with the guys, still bring in skips for Vinnie and drive a kick-ass car. And I could stay close to Ranger. But then I remembered Ranger saying he'd keep me in his life whether we were lovers or not.

"Why are you offering me this job?" I asked. "Surely there is someone more qualified. Someone who already knows about the security systems you use."

"Babe."

"I mean it, Ranger. Is this your way of keeping me involved in your life, even though we are, how did you say it? Pulling back on 'this'."

"Stephanie, who would I send? Would I want Cal to be the face of RangeMan Residential? Or maybe Hector?"

He had a point, and I was mentally jumping for joy. No more wondering where the rent would come from. I could pick and choose my skips from Vinnie. I could still hang out with Connie and Lula, and when Vinnie became unbearable, I'd have my RangeMan job to fall back on. He was waiting for me to say yes.

The unpredictable Stephanie took over. "Can I think about this?"

"Yes, but I'd like your decision fairly soon. I'll need to look for someone else if you decide against the position." He opened the door and got out of the car, and I did, too. Darkness had fallen completely during the time we were in the car, and Ranger seemed to glide through the night to my side of the car. He handed me the key fob and I took it, a little reluctantly.

While he was standing next to me it was hard to remember how much his honesty had hurt me just a day earlier. "I'll think about the job," I told him, "and I'll drive this car until mine comes back from the shop. I won't drive it permanently, though. Just when I'm working, if I decide to accept the job. And I'll think about it, seriously."

"That's all I'm asking." He leaned in and touched his lips to mine. I pulled back.

"I thought we decided we weren't going to do that anymore," I said.

"I told you that if you couldn't handle sex without a relationship you should leave," he said. "And you left. I never told you I wouldn't try to change your mind. And I warned you I wouldn't let you slip out of my life. I need you in it."

His lips found mine again and his arms went around me. I smelled the damn Bulgari and I felt his need. Yes, he needed me, but he didn't want me in the way I wanted him. At that moment it didn't matter. I let my body lean into him and returned his kiss with more passion than I thought I had left. And then he pulled back, pulled another set of keys from his pocket, fobbed open the Turbo and walked toward it. When he'd said we needed to pull back, I'd interpreted it differently. I stood in the parking lot as he drove off and wondered how my life had gotten so screwed up.

The next morning I told Ranger I'd take the job. That meant one more week of doing searches and I was committed to performing them with diligence and determination. I was going to have a clean desktop by the end of the week.

The running club, as I thought of Lula, Valerie and myself, met on Wednesday night to let Chroma put us through our paces. And once again the exercise wasn't the torture I'd imagined it would be. Lula and Val were so excited about running that their enthusiasm spilled, just a little, onto me.

Val turned out to have a great sense of humor. She was happy to be single, and her happiness made me feel a little better about my own screwed-up romantic status. She was full of hope for her future and it reinforced my hope. I found myself looking forward to the training, because when we ran we also talked.

The next week we would start in earnest every morning before work. Chroma would be on second shift by then. Valerie was doing some student teaching, and I would be training for my new position. Lula had the most flexibility, because basically she showed up at the bonds office whenever she wanted to, but even she agreed to get up early to run. Chroma had already started changing my life.

The big event of the week occurred on Thursday afternoon when I took Lula to her allergy doctor appointment. Dr. Milton Ward's office was at the edge of the Burg on the corner of Liberty and Chambers streets. Lula was nervous, and when we walked into the small waiting room, I started to feel nervous, too. Business was good and there was no place to sit so I leaned against a wall as Lula checked in. Immediately after she finished the paperwork a door opened and a white-uniformed nurse called out, "Tallulah." I smiled in spite of the dirty look Lula gave me.

Lula said, "Here I am, and this here is my driver, Stephanie. She's coming back with me." And then she shoved me through the doorway first. I had no problem with that. I thought it would be better to be in an exam room than stuck in an over-crowded waiting room.

Lula was measured and weighed in a small alcove. I looked away, out of politeness, but I needn't have. Lula wasn't shy about telling the nurse how much weight she'd lost and how she was working out on a regular basis.

Once inside the exam room the nurse explained the allergy testing procedure and instructed Lula to take off her clothes and put on a gown. Again I turned away, mostly because of my modesty. I'd seen Lula naked before, on a nude beach, and I didn't want to refresh the image.

I found myself staring at a framed print on the wall, while listening to Lula disrobe behind me. It was a poster of the Trenton Thunder baseball team, and it immediately brought back memories of Joe and me in happier days. We'd attended many Thunder games when we had first reconnected. It was fun to spend a spring or summer evening at the ballpark. The beer and hotdogs were good and the team was fun to root for.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't realize the doctor had entered the room, until a pleasant deep-timbered voice asked, "Are you a fan?" I turned to look at an attractive man about my height and probably about my age. He wore a white coat with his name embroidered on the pocket. Milton Ward, M.D.

"I am a fan," I said.

He held out his hand and I instinctively held out mine, forgetting for a moment about the cast. He looked down and we both laughed. "Milt Ward," he said by way of introduction. "I'm a season ticket holder. And you are?"

"She's Stephanie Plum, my driver," Lula said. "An' I'm Lula, the patient. The one who's willing to pay good money if you can fix my allergy to cats."

An hour later, Lula had had her allergy confirmed. She was dozing on the exam table from a large dose of Benadryl she'd been given to counteract the massive sneezing fit she'd had. It looked like she was going to be a regular customer at Dr. Ward's allergy clinic, but he promised good results.

As the nurse helped her walk from the exam room, Milton Ward, M.D. stopped me in the hall. "I mentioned I have season tickets to the Thunder games," he said. "If you'd ever like to go to a game, give me a call." He pressed a business card into my hand that had a hand-written phone number penciled in under his office number.

Lula's allergist had just hit on me. I dropped the card into my purse, knowing I'd never call. I had no time for casual flirting, even if the doctor was kind of cute. I was focused on moving from this weird place Ranger and I found ourselves in. If I couldn't make my relationship wishes come true, I'd cave. I'd play by his rules, because Ranger was the only one I wanted in my life.

I could not have predicted that, in a few weeks, I'd be upending my purse to find the card I'd just carelessly deposited in my bag.


	19. Chapter 19

**_A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing this story. I wouldn't be getting these great reviews without the help of a good friend and beta, jago-ji. She returns my chapters correctly punctuated, adds missing words, and finds errors missed by spell checker. She does not edit my author's notes and I imagine she cringes when she reads them! The mistakes are all mine, despite her efforts. And as always it's_****_ just for fun and not for profit._**

Chapter 19

Baby Got Back Fat

We'd been meeting in the mornings for almost three weeks and while I didn't like to openly admit it, I was feeling good about exercise. Back in the old days, when Ranger was my mentor, we'd gone running and it hadn't been much fun. Except for the part where he'd broken into my bedroom to roust me out of bed. Running with the girls was much more fun. We'd started out with just a mile, but this week we were running two and the next week we'd run two and a half and farther if we felt like it.

Chroma was insistent that we warm up properly so there was time spent stretching before we could actually run. We always started at the gym, wound our way through the streets and then back to the gym. Then we went our separate ways. Chroma and I both went to RangeMan, although first, I swung by home, showered and got ready for the day. She went straight from our run to RangeMan where she started her day with an uber-workout by sparring with one of the guys, and with Ranger at least once a week.

On the days I was in the office doing searches, it was not uncommon for her to come by to say hi and tell me about the sparring session. Without exception, when she stopped by, she was always freshly showered and Bulgari scented. I thought about asking Ranger if she had a key fob of her own, but Ranger and I weren't talking much.

He was always there for me if I needed anything, especially anything regarding my new position. I sensed he wanted me to be successful, which was good, because I wanted me to be successful, too. Other than discussing work, he was remote, much as he was before Joe and I had broken up. I hadn't given up on us, but it was starting to look like the physical aspect of our relationship, or un-relationship, was on hiatus.

If having no man in my life left a void, and it did, then the time I was spending with Valerie, Lula and, to some extent, Chroma, was helping to fill the void. The run itself was fun. Lula and Val kept up a…well, running commentary on the state of the world, and their piece of it, specifically. Typically, I lagged behind on purpose so I could listen and not participate. Chroma usually kept pace with me, and we didn't talk much, which was okay. It was a comfortable co-existence. We'd been meeting three mornings out of five. Today, Chroma was more talkative than she had been any day since we'd started running.

"You're improving every day, Stephanie," she said. "Your endurance is increasing and you're not breathing nearly as hard at this part of the run as you were last week."

"Thanks," I said. "Your training is working, and that's something I want to talk to you about. Are you charging me for this? I need to pay you. I heard Lula mention she owed you for next month, and it made me realize I haven't paid a thing."

"There's no cost for you," she said. The words were eerily similar to what Ranger had told me many times. "Valerie and Lula are my clients. I still meet them to work out in the gym. I'm their trainer, that's why I charge them."

"You're my trainer," I said. "I should pay."

"You're my friend. No charge." She grinned at me and kicked up her speed to bring herself alongside Lula and Val. "Too much chatter, ladies. You need to focus."

"I am focused," Lula said. "I'm focused on telling Valerie about my old boyfriend."

"And I'm focused on listening," Val said. Her words were in sync with her feet pounding the pavement. "And I'm focused on what I'm getting ready to tell Lula about my…uh, friend."

"So you got you a boyfriend all ready?" Lula asked.

"Sort of," Val said. "We don't really date, we just, well, you know."

"I bet I do!" Lula replied. The gym came into sight at the end of the next block and Val quit talking and started sprinting. Chroma had said Val had what it took to be a good runner, and it looked like Chroma was right.

"Hey," I shouted as she moved away from us. "Who is this guy, Val?" She didn't answer. When Lula, Chroma and I arrived in front of the gym a few seconds after Val, I asked again, "Who are you…seeing?"

"Oh, no one you know. He's just a guy I've known for a while, but we just got together lately. He has a weird work schedule so we can meet during the day when the girls are gone. I'm not bringing anyone into the girls' lives unless it becomes serious."

"Is it going to become serious?" I asked.

"I've been married twice. I don't think I'm gonna try the whole third time's a charm thing. No, it's not serious, but it's fun." She grinned widely. It bothered me that she was not telling the name of her new man, but I didn't want to pry. She was my big sister and she should be able to take care of herself.

"Okay, ladies." Chroma said. "We've only got one more week before the race. Let's make each practice count."

"About that," I said. "I think I'm going to have to miss next Wednesday. I have an appointment to get this cast removed. I had to make it early in the morning because I have my first RangeMan client meeting later the same morning."

"What time is your appointment?" Lula asked. "Ain't no doctor's office open this early."

"The nurse is taking the cast off," I told Lula. "She's meeting me at eight because I have a client appointment at nine. There's no way I can run, go home to shower and make it to the doctor's office by eight."

"Hmm," Lula said. "Too bad you don't belong to the gym. You could shower and get dressed right here."

"Too bad," I agreed. "I'll just have to find time to run later in the day."

"Or you could run with us in the morning," Chroma said. "My apartment is just a couple of blocks away. I'll change our running route so we begin and end there and you can shower at my place."

"Oh, well I…" I was stammering. If anyone else had made the offer, I'd have accepted immediately. It wasn't because Chroma was gay that I was hesitating. It was because she was gay_ and_ had a crush on me. I didn't have a good excuse I could offer to refuse her without saying something hurtful.

"That's a great idea," Lula said. "We can all use your place to get ready for the day. Is that okay with you, Chroma?"

"Yes, sure." I had a feeling it wasn't what she had planned, but like me she couldn't verbalize any opposition.

I didn't sleep well on the next Tuesday night. I was a little nervous about my first client meeting. I wanted to do a good job, because I wanted to become an important part of RangeMan. I was well prepared. I knew everything about the system installed in the McGettrick's new two million dollar McMansion. They'd had the system in for three months and my job was to find out how it was working and if they were satisfied or if changes needed to be made.

It was normal—anyone would be a little nervous on the first day of an important job. But it wasn't the only reason I was nervous. Lula's admonition to not lead Chroma on was planted firmly in my mind. I knew it was an irrational fear, because Chroma knew I liked men. She knew about Joe and what had happened to cause my broken hand. Probably her suggestion that I use her shower was just a kind gesture from one friend to another. Probably.

It wasn't quite daylight when we met at Chroma's. I'd left my car at RangeMan the night before and taken the Panamera. My little black suit was lying across the backseat, as the car had no garment hook. That was as close to a negative as I could find about the Panamera. Lula and Val were already stretching in preparation to run. Valerie was wearing a matching Under Armor orange t-shirt and shorts. Chroma was wearing something similar, although she'd adapted well to the RangeMan uniform of all black. Lula was in a poison green t-shirt and matching shorts, and I was wearing blue nylon shorts and a Metallica t-shirt that I'd used for pajamas when I'd lived in the dorm at college.

The route Chroma had plotted out was a simple rectangle. About half way through I realized we were going to go right by the Donut Hole. It was aptly named, because it was just a small hole-in-the-wall shop, but the scents emanating from it were fabulous. We were over a block away when the smell of warm, sugary dough wafted my way. I thought about taking a detour inside, but quickly gave up the fantasy, because I knew my co-runners wouldn't appreciate it. Lula and Val were ahead of Chroma and me, as usual, so they came upon the scene first.

They both stopped running. Val turned toward me with a concerned look in her eye and Lula also swiveled to face me, but she kept running in place, raising her knees high.

"I think we found Baby," Lula said. My eyes focused on what Val and Lula had already seen. Joe Morelli was leaning against the wall of the shop, his hand tugging a scooped-neck shirt away from a voluptuous chest, for a better look. The woman was facing mostly away from me, but she was blonde and her hair resembled my wig. She must have felt my stare, because she turned and glanced in my direction. It was Terry Gilman, and it was not a surprise that Joe had been seeing her. I'd thought several times it was probably her Joe had mistaken me for.

When our eyes made contact, she smirked. I was shocked by her appearance. She'd put on at least twenty pounds since I'd last seen her, and apparently hadn't been shopping since before the weight gain. My eyes slid toward Joe who was still unaware of our presence. "What a bitch," I muttered.

"Yeah," Valerie agreed. "You think that's Baby?"

"I do," I said.

"Huhn," Lula said thoughtfully. "Baby's got back fat." I heard Valerie snort, and I saw the wrinkle on Chroma's brow, as if she felt she should do something, but didn't know what. All at once my legs were burning with energy and I took off. Like a rocket. I sped by them too fast to see what Joe's expression was when he saw me. I ran full out and was only vaguely aware of the others following me. At some point, I realized I'd missed our turn so I turned at the next corner and headed back to Chroma's apartment.

While I ran, my temper, which had risen to boiling the instant Terry had given me the "I won" smile, began to cool. I started to analyze my feelings. There wasn't any hurt. There was anger, but it wasn't really directed toward Terry. It was concentrated all on Joe, and not because he'd been cheating on me. I was over that, I realized, with no small amount of shock. I was mad because he'd mistaken my backside for her much broader behind. Men were such idiots! I amended that thought immediately. Not all men, not most men, but some men. And Joe Morelli was some man.

We all stood for a few moments in front of Chroma's apartment. Lula was bent over at the waist, hands on hips gasping for breath. Valerie was wiping sweat from her brow and I was pacing, trying to cool down. Chroma was barely winded. She reached to the waistband of her shorts and unclipped a small electronic pedometer. After pushing a few buttons she looked up with a smile on her face. "Congratulations, ladies. You've just run 3.7 miles or 5.9 kilometers. If you do this on Saturday, we'll have some medal winners in the group."

"If I do this on Saturday, I'll throw up," Lula said. "I may throw up now." She was looking like she meant it. "I think I need to head on back home." She turned toward her Firebird. There went my shower chaperone.

I checked the time on my phone. "I need to get showered, dressed and out of here," I said. "I can't wait to get this cast off."

"I'll let you in," Chroma said, tilting her head toward her apartment. "I need to get to RangeMan. I'm going to take down Cal today." Her grin was wide, and I grinned back as her words sunk in. I would be in her apartment alone. "But there is something else I want to discuss before I go," she continued. "I don't think we should run Friday. We'll save ourselves for the race on Saturday. But I was thinking…" She looked down and seemed hesitant. The old Chroma was back, the shy girl. "Maybe we could all eat together Friday evening. Have a good healthy day-before-the-race meal. And we could discuss running strategies."

"That would be great," Val said. "Albert will have the girls this weekend, so I'll be alone Friday night. I'll cook."

Chroma moved to her apartment door and unlocked it. She turned back to Val and me. "You can go on in, Stephanie. Just pull the door closed behind you when you leave and it will lock."

I went inside, a little relieved and a little ashamed that I was feeling relieved, to take my shower and get ready for the day. I left Val and Chroma discussing menu choices for our meal. The first thing I noticed was a similarity to Ranger's apartment. Chroma's didn't have the decorator stamp that Ranger's did, but it was sparse and meticulously clean. Furniture with simple lines and no knick-knackery. No personal items at all. There was even more similarity to come.

As I stepped into the shower I looked down to see a familiar bottle of shower gel on the edge of the tub. Bulgari. I guess I wasn't the only one to help myself to Ranger's supply. And today, she wouldn't be the only one to smell like Ranger.

I bounded into RangeMan shortly before noon. I was feeling really good and I was happy to see Ranger was in his office. In my exuberance, I didn't knock. I walked in and slipped my ass up onto the edge of his desk and crossed my legs. It wasn't until later that I realized I'd given him a glimpse of more than my thighs. I wasn't thinking about anything except how well the meeting had gone, and I wanted to share it with him.

"Are you busy?" I asked.

"Not anymore."

"Great, I want to tell you about the McGettricks"

"Did it go well?"

"Yes. It did. I was able to answer all their questions, and they just had a few simple requests. Things I knew we could do for them. I told them we'd have a technician out to make the changes in a couple of days, and then I called Woody and got everything set up."

"I knew you'd do well," he said.

My smile was wide and genuine. "And look," I said, holding up my right arm. The unwieldy cast was gone. In its place was a small elastic brace. "And I can take this off to shower and sleep."

"That's good," he said. His hand found my knee and squeezed and then started a slow journey north. My breath caught in my throat. This was Ranger, it was the middle of the day, and he was touching me and heading toward touching me intimately, and it had happened naturally without forethought from either one of us. This was good.

Tank's booming voice preceded him into the office. "Boss, you ready to head out for our lunch meeting with Uhlman?" He walked through the door and stopped short, his eyes taking in Ranger's hand moving toward my…well, moving.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Ranger said. As he stood, his hand slid back down to my knee. He dropped a kiss on the top of my head and said, "Later, Babe." He sounded regretful. The entire incident had been so unplanned, so spontaneous, that I wasn't regretful at all. I was hopeful.


	20. Chapter 20

**_They don't belong to me..._**

Chapter 20

I Kissed A Girl

"_Get out, Tank." Ranger stood from behind his desk and walked across the room. Tank obeyed his command and moved back into the hallway, and with a reverberating slam the office door was closed. And then came the blissful sound of a lock clicking. Ranger stepped back in front of me, and his hand resumed its northward journey while his other hand reached behind me to swipe the desktop clear. He was making clear what was going to happen, as well. I let him push me back…_

The sound of a car horn had me back in the present and with a groan I realized I'd sat almost completely through a green light. I hit the accelerator and zoomed through the intersection as the light changed to yellow, leaving angry motorists stranded behind me. What would have happened if Tank hadn't interrupted Ranger and me? Probably not what I was thinking. Ranger's sense of privacy would have, at least, made him haul me to his apartment before…before what? Ranger had always made it clear it was my call. All I had to do was, convincingly, tell him I could handle sex for the sake of sex.

Ranger's hand on my leg two days earlier had been the last personal contact we'd had. He hadn't returned to the office after the lunch meeting Tank had mentioned. It seemed there was way more to running RangeMan than I had ever envisioned, and most of it happened without my knowledge. Tank had been in the office the rest of the day, though, and it made me wonder if Ranger was avoiding me. I dismissed that thought as soon as I had it. He'd said "later." Ranger was a literal guy and if he said it, he meant it. I just had to have patience and wait until "later."

I waited until the end of the day before approaching Tank. I thought I needed to tell someone I was returning to the bonds office. I made a quick search for Rodriguez, but his office was empty. I was getting really tired of the phantom supervisor, so I didn't go to extraordinary lengths to tell him he was losing a researcher.

Tank, who was sitting behind a cluttered desk, took my news silently with a brief nod to let me know he'd heard me and returned to his frowning perusal of a handful of papers. I slunk out of the office feeling a little dejected. I didn't know what I'd expected, but maybe a thank you for the work I'd done. I wasn't really leaving though, as I had another client appointment on Friday.

I spent the next day at the bonds office listening to Vinnie tell me how nice it had been to have Ranger's men cover for me, and how I'd better step up my game if I wanted to keep my job. In other words, things went right back to normal. In the afternoon, Lula and I had managed to bring in one FTA, a Burg low-life who had been caught peeping in the window of his eighty year old neighbor lady. I split the recovery fee with Lula because she'd done her share, although she bailed on me before I entered the cop shop.

I'd been half hoping I'd run into Joe. I didn't know what I'd say, but I wanted him to know my life was good without him. And it was a nice consolation to know it was true. I was over Joe.

The client appointment on Friday had gone well. I stopped by Ranger's office to report, remembering my last after-client visit, but the office was empty, so I exchanged the Panamera for my junk heap and went home to take the afternoon off. And now I was on my way to eat dinner with the running club, and fantasizing about what might have happened between Ranger and me. I flexed the fingers of my right hand and felt no pain under the elastic brace. Yeah, things were back to normal in my life. But normal wasn't good any longer.

I needed to make changes, and I needed to make a decision about the changes I'd already made. I'd only promised to exercise until the 5K. Would I keep running with Chroma and the girls after the race? Would I let Chroma train me? I didn't know. I'd make that decision after the race tomorrow.

I arrived at Val's to find Lula already there. She was sitting in the living room without the lights on, and Val was finishing dinner preparations. I stuck my head through the kitchen door to say hi, but didn't offer to help. Val was like my mother. She ruled her kitchen, and I would only have been in the way, so I went into the living room and flipped on the light.

"What are you doing sitting here in the dark?" I asked. I took a good look at her and knew something was seriously wrong. Her eyes were glazed and her face was without the usual optimism. She was wearing a pair of brown pants and a beige blouse. It was the most un-Lula like outfit I could have imagined.

"It's a horrible thing," she said. "I think I'm pregnant."

I was shocked. I'd thought Lula couldn't get pregnant because of the awful injury she suffered at the hands of Benito Ramirez. I hesitated and then I said, "But I thought you couldn't get pregnant."

"I can," she said. "The doctor said it wouldn't be likely, but it was possible.  
Tank is such a manly-man, I should have known it would happen."

"How late are you?"

"I'm not late, but I threw up after I ran on Wednesday, and I threw up yesterday after I ate leftover pizza. I have to face it, I got a big brown bun in the oven."

Val came into the living room wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Everything is ready," she said. "Chroma should be here any time, then we can eat."

"I can't eat," Lula said. "And I can't run tomorrow, neither."

Val looked at Lula and then looked at me. "She thinks she's pregnant," I told Val.

"Have you been having unprotected sex?" Val asked in a tone very reminiscent of my mother.

"No, but I been throwing up and I can feel something moving in my belly. I'm pregnant."

Val walked over to the sofa and held her hand out to Lula who took it. She hoisted Lula up from the sofa and said, "Come with me. I've got a pregnancy test in the bathroom. We'll find out."

"You keep a pregnancy test in your bathroom?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's left over from Albert. He had very good swimmers. C'mon, Lula." I had no comment, but watched as Val dragged Lula toward the hall. As they left the room, the doorbell rang. I went to let Chroma in.

"Welcome to the madhouse," I said as I opened the door. I looked out on the drive but saw no sports car. "Where's your car?" I asked.

"I ran," she said.

"You ran? It must be six or seven miles from your place."

She removed her pedometer from the waistband of her spandex shorts and pushed a few buttons. And she grinned. "Eight miles," she said. "But I didn't get to work out today because I traded a shift with Vince so I could have the evening free for dinner. I needed to run."

I wasn't at the point yet where I understood the need to run. "Come sit on the sofa," I said, looking at my watch. "We've got three minutes to ground zero."

Chroma frowned. "Three minutes till dinner is cooked?" she asked.

"Three minutes till Lula's pregnancy test is done cooking." I saw Chroma's eyes widen, but she said nothing and sat down. I sat in Val's cushioned wooden rocker and looked down in surprise to see my steepled fingers. A pregnant Lula! What would that mean for her and Tank. Before I could contemplate a baby Tallulah or baby Pierre a loud hoot came from the hallway and a smiling Lula flounced in.

"I take it the pregnancy test was negative," I said.

"Fuckin' A! I guess what I was feeling move was that pizza I left on the counter overnight. That might be what made me throw up, too. Next time, I'll remember to put it in the fridge."

The mood lightened immediately. Dinner was fun if not completely satisfying. It was a stir-fry. Chicken and vegetables with some squiggly whole-grain pasta noodles. No one was allowed to have wine or dessert. Chroma was a stern taskmaster when it came to fitness. We listened to Chroma tell us she was sure we could complete the race, especially after our unplanned side trip when I'd seen Joe and Terry at the Donut Hole.

"I know I can do this," Valerie said. "And after this color run I'm going to start training for a half-marathon. Will you help me Chroma?"

"Of course," she said.

"I'm gonna keep running, too," Lula said. "Now that I'm not pregnant I'm gonna be a kick-ass runner." I felt like it was my turn to say something, but I didn't. Truth was I didn't know if I was going to run or allow Chroma to train me or not. My future plans mainly revolved about how I was going to make Ranger a permanent fixture, in an intimate way, in my life. Exercise was secondary.

I saw Val look at the wall clock twice around nine o'clock. I wondered if she was planning on a visit from her mystery man. Lula was more direct in her intentions. "I can't stay any longer," she said. "Now that I'm not pregnant, I'm in the mood for love. I got my allergy shot today and Tank's at his house waiting for me." Neither Chroma nor I vocalized any plans for the evening. I had no idea if Ranger was working, or spending a quiet evening at his apartment, and I wasn't sure I had the nerve to call.

The conversation came to a natural end just a few minutes later and we all got up to leave. We made plans to meet at Arm and Hammer Park at ten, stretched out, and ready to run. As I opened the front door to leave a gust of wind blew rain into my face. "It's raining," I said unnecessarily.

"That's okay," Lula said. "I'll just run for it." And she was out the door, down the driveway and into her vehicle in record time.

"You can't run home in this," I said to Chroma. "If there's lightning it could be dangerous. I'll give you a ride."

"Thanks," she said. She leaned over to Val and gave her a quick hug. "Don't be nervous about tomorrow, Valerie. You'll do great."

We were both quiet on the ride home. I concentrated on trying to get the defroster to clear the windows. I'm not sure what Chroma was thinking about, but it was not a comfortable silence. When I pulled in front of her apartment she made no move to get out. I left the engine running. It wasn't cold, but the defroster kept the outside world from disappearing behind fogged-over windows.

"Are you going to let me train you?" she asked, breaking her silence.

I thought for a bit before I answered. "I've enjoyed the running and the friendship, but I haven't made up my mind yet, about continuing, or about starting other training." I paused, choosing my words carefully. "I've been thinking a lot lately, about changes I need to make to my life. Right now, I just can't commit to any training. It's not that I…"

"Changes?" she asked. "You mean now that Joe Morelli isn't a part of your life any longer? You mean changes involving another person."

"Yes," I said. I managed to keep the surprise out of my voice. I didn't know I'd been so obvious about my feelings toward Ranger.

She smiled at me. The car was dark with only the dim light of a nearby streetlight filtering in, but once again I was struck with her attractiveness and I remembered how jealous I'd been of her. "It's okay, Stephanie. Take your time. I understand it's a big decision for you. For me there's never been any question."

Then with no warning she leaned across the car. Her hands slid under my hair and she bent her head toward me. Her lips were soft and full against mine and then they were gone. It had only lasted a second. She'd kissed me. I hadn't kissed her back—I didn't think. She opened the car door and ran through the rain, hurdling the low fence in front of her apartment with gazelle-like grace, and disappeared into her building. I sat unmoving, stunned by the kiss. It was amazing how life could change in just a few seconds. One minute I was dropping a friend off at home and the next I was the recipient of something entirely unwanted. What had happened?

Oh. Shit. I'd been talking about changes involving Ranger and she thought I'd been talking about her. Oh. Shit. I picked up my phone and called Lula. The phone connected on the third ring and I could hear the rustle of fabric. Great, I'd probably interrupted her and Tank.

"Chroma kissed me," I blurted. There was silence. "Did you hear me? Chroma kissed me!"

"Uh, Lula is in the bathroom," Tank said. "I'll have her call you." He sounded relaxed. Surely Lula couldn't have made it home and into bed that quickly. Now Tank knew. If they were in that eight minute window Lula had told me about, then Lula would know, too. Otherwise, he'd probably keep it to himself.

"Oh. Oh, forget it." I disconnected and put the car in drive. I needed to get home and form a plan.

Should I call Ranger? I didn't think so. What was going on between us was complicated enough. I didn't want to bring Chroma into it. Did I just tell her there was no possible way she and I would ever be together? I didn't think that would work either. I remembered what Lula had said about not leading her on, and I knew I hadn't. It hadn't mattered whether I did or not, because Chroma wasn't thinking rationally. I needed to show her. I needed to walk into Arm and Hammer Park tomorrow, run the race, and confront her with news that would prove I wasn't interested in her.

Arm and Hammer Park. The home of the Trenton Thunder. Suddenly, it came to me. I pulled into my lot and ran through the drizzle into my building. No time to waste on the elevator, I took the stairs two at a time. I went straight to my dining room and upended my bag on the table. Receipts and candy wrappers filtered through my fingers until I came upon the embossed business card. It took a moment to compose myself before I let my fingers dial the number. I didn't stop to consider whether I'd be using him or not. It didn't have to go very far, maybe not even beyond one date, but I had to have one date, to tell Chroma, to show Chroma. I wasn't into women.

It was almost ten o'clock on a Friday night, and it had been three weeks since he'd given me his card, but Dr. Milton Ward was a gentleman and managed to hide his surprise at my call.

"Stephanie, I'd be happy to share my tickets with you. As it happens, there is a game tomorrow night. I can pick you up about seven. Would that work for you?"

I thought quickly about the day I had scheduled. I'd be finished with the run before noon and then I could take all day to get ready for my date. Maybe I could ask Lula and Chroma to come and help me get ready. That should give her the right idea.

"Stephanie?"

"Yes. Sorry, Milt. Tomorrow would be great and I'll be ready to go at seven." We spent a few minutes discussing the particulars of our meeting and then I disconnected.

I began to second guess myself. Should I have called Ranger? I wanted to set Chroma straight, but I didn't want to hurt her unnecessarily. She had a relationship with Ranger, although not the kind I'd first envisioned. I think in some ways, she viewed Ranger as a replacement for her brother. Ant had been her protector, and now Ranger was her protector…although she did a pretty good job of protecting herself. I came to no decision as to whether I'd done the right thing. Time would tell.


	21. Chapter 21

**_I don't own them, I just play with them._**

Chapter 21

Run Or Dye

This was the dumbest thing I'd agreed to in a long time. Exercise was one thing, but running in a competition was another thing entirely. I was nervous. Val and Lula were excited and looking forward to it. I was looking forward to getting it over with. The staging area was teeming with participants. Valerie saw me and waved. I took a good long look at Val and then glanced down at myself. Her body was shaping up. She was jogging in place and seemed oblivious to the crowd around her. Her hair was Chroma-like in blonde spikes and her body was showcased in a tight t-shirt and tiny running shorts, both white. I was wearing the event t-shirt Lula had sent me, also white, and pair of black gym shorts Joe had accidentally left behind at my apartment.

Lula and Chroma were standing next to Val. Seeing Chroma made me realize I was nervous about more than running. She was wearing the event t-shirt and a pair of running shorts also. Her legs went on forever. Chroma and Val were a striking pair, standing next to one another. She smiled broadly at me, and my stomach did a little flip-flop. It had seemed like a good idea the night before, but now it seemed callous. I was going to hurt Chroma, and knowing it was for her own good didn't make me feel any better.

And then I saw Lula. She was wearing a white spandex tank top and shorts, and she had a tutu wrapped around her middle. There was a glittering tiara balanced on top of her Tina Turner wig. She made a beeline for me.

" 'Bout time you showed up," she said. She handed me a pair of wraparound sunglasses. "These will protect your eyes. Tank gave me a pair for all of us. Why didn't you wear white shorts?"

"I don't own any white shorts," I said, "and it's overcast this morning. I don't need sunglasses."

"You do need sunglasses. You gotta protect your eyes from the powder." I looked around and noticed several other runners with eye protection and at least two others decked out like Lula, with tutus and tiaras.

"What powder? And what's the deal with the tutu?"

"The color powder," she said. "And the tutu is because I'm a running princess. Wait till you see me at the finish line. I'll be a rainbow princess. I'm already a woman of color, but I'll be a woman of Technicolor!"

"What are you talking about?"

"The color run…you do know what a color run is, don't you?"

"Something to do with diversity, I figure."

"Hunh! You figure wrong. Didn't you read the race brochure?" I hadn't. Chroma had registered us as a team and given us all the race information. I'd stuffed the brochure into my bag and forgotten about it.

"No," I said. "I didn't read it. So this color thing is not about diversity?"

"Hell, no. It's about color. We're going to run this 5K, and people are going to fling dye at us. By the time we're finished, there won't be any white left on me."

"You're joking! I get stuff thrown on me all the time when I work for Vinnie. It's not fun. I've changed my mind. I'm going home." I turned away fully intending to leave, but Lula's fingers curled around my arm.

"You can't go home. RangeMan paid for all our entry fees. You have to run or you have to pay Ranger back, and since this race is for charity, RangeMan made a big contribution." Someone blew an air horn from the other side of the crowd. "Too late to back out now, anyway," Lula said.

Val and Chroma came over to us as we made our way to the starting point. "That was the two minute warning," Chroma said. "This is not a timed race, so we can run together like we do in practice, or you can go all out, but the plan here is to finish. I want you to get used to running with a group, so when we enter a serious competition you'll be a little experienced." I knew I didn't need the experience. I wouldn't be running in any other races. I was undecided about continuing running in the future, but if I did it would be only for exercise and not for competition.

"If this race ain't timed, how are they gonna know who wins?" Lula asked.

"If you finish, you win," Chroma said. "There will be a table at the end where they will give out gift bags to the finishers. We'll meet up there." The air horn sounded again and people were suddenly in motion. A woman on my left ran past wearing a shower cap and pushing a jogging stroller. I didn't have time to see if the baby was wearing a matching shower cap. I ran with an easy pace letting the crowd spread out around me. Valerie and Chroma were running side-by-side, a short distance ahead. I saw the first puff of color land on Chroma's back, but she didn't break stride.

Lula ran past me pumping with one hand and holding on to her tiara with the other. Her boobs were bouncing so hard I hoped the spandex would contain them for the duration of the race. I felt a small poof and looked down to see a splatter of yellow across my chest. I glanced to the side to see a smiling woman about the same age as Grandma Mazur shaking her now empty red plastic cup at me. I was having fun now, _not_.

After the third cup of color decorated my shirt, chest and forearms, I realized I _was _having fun. The color was soft and powdery and looked like it would be easy to dust off. I found my groove and let my feet hit the pavement in a rhythm that made the meters roll by quickly, and I passed Lula. When the finish line came into view, I realized I was going to finish just behind Chroma and Val. I picked up the pace a little just as I saw a familiar flash of red hair, ahead on the right, and then my steps faltered.

It happened all in one moment. Joyce Barnhardt recognized me, dropped her cup and with a huge, malicious grin picked up the bucket of dye she'd been dipping her cup into and let it fly…right at me. I stood sputtering blue powder. I thought about going after her, but she was a race official, apparently, and I was running for RangeMan. I kept my temper in check and shook off as much blue as I could.

Strong hands pushed at me as Lula roared by. "Out of my way, Smurfette," she said. "I've got the end in sight." She ran past me to the finish line where she was applauded by Chroma and handed a towel by Valerie. I started jogging toward my teammates with considerably less enthusiasm than Lula.

Chroma met me with a towel. Everyone looked like a finger painting class gone way wrong, and I knew I looked worse. She gently ran the towel over my face and it came away blue. "That helped quite a bit," she said. "You look great!"

"Yeah," Lula said. "You look just like that mean girl from Willie Wonka."

"Feeling a little blue, Beautiful? I can cheer you up." I swung around to see Lester grinning broadly at me. And standing next to him were Tank, Vince, Hal, Cal and Woody.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"RangeMan sponsored your team in the race," Lester said. "We came down to celebrate with you."

"Sheesh. Who's holding down the fort?"

"There's plenty back at the fort," Lester said. "C'mon. We're headed over to the Book'em for a celebratory drink."

Valerie walked up beside me and handed me a bag. "Here's your finisher's bag," she said. "What's the Book'em?"

Woody grinned. "The Book'em is a cop bar a couple of blocks down the road. It's open early to accommodate cops getting off the night shift, but this time of day we'll pretty much have it to ourselves."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Lula said, as she and Chroma joined the group.

Here was my chance. Standing in the middle of this group I could casually announce, "Sorry, I can't go. I've got a hot man taking me out tonight. Gotta go home and exfoliate." My stomach was roiling with nerves because I was going to do something hurtful, and that wasn't my nature. Oh, I could be mean when I had to. I'd take Joyce Barnhardt to the ground and pummel her with my bare hands if she sauntered by, but it was harder to hurt Chroma who was part kick-ass RangeMan operative and part vulnerable young girl.

The group seemed to be waiting for my answer. "Sure," I said. "Let's go." A little liquid courage would make the announcement go easier. I didn't want to announce it in front of the guys anyway. It would lead to questions, especially from nosy Lester, I didn't want to answer. I planned on my dating relationship with Milton Ward being a short one.

The bar was mostly empty. The bartender and waitress looked a little surprised as we entered. I knew how crazy Chroma, Lula and Val looked, and I figured I looked worse. I thought it would have been a better idea to go home, but the men wanted to celebrate our accomplishment. And somewhere beneath the lurking dread of what I was going to do to Chroma, I felt a little proud of myself.

"First round is on me, ladies. What's your pleasure?" Tank asked.

Lula, blonde wig and tiara still in place, should have looked ludicrous, but she looked sort of cute when she smiled up at Tank. "You're my pleasure, Baby, but you can bring me a drink anyway." I swear the big dark man blushed. "Let's have a fun drink, to celebrate our colors," she continued. "In honor of Stephanie, let's have Blue Hawaiians." Tank went to the bar to place the order.

The Blue Hawaiians went down pretty good, as did the Purple Rains and the glasses of Black and Tan. Not all the guys were joining us in our color drinking, but everyone seeming willing to chip in for a round. I was feeling more and more courageous. Our group had pretty much taken over the small bar, sitting at various tables and milling around. I noticed Lula was keeping her eyes trained on Tank as he moved around the bar joking with the men and occasionally coming to listen to a snippet of the conversation from the girls' table.

Lula watched as Tank slapped Woody on the back and shared a joke. She leaned in and we all knew we were going to hear something important. "That's one fine man, and he'd probably make a good daddy, but I'm glad I ain't pregnant," she said.

"I'm glad, too," I said.

"I need to get me some good birth control," she continued.

Valerie leaned toward Lula, talking in a hushed voice that wouldn't carry in the noisy bar. "I hope you're not using condoms," she said. I heard a slight slur in her voice. She tolerated alcohol much like me.

"We are using condoms," Lula said, "but I gotta get me something else. I don't want no accidents."

"That's a good idea," Valerie said. "I got pregnant four times using condoms." There was a loud crash behind us, and I turned to see Lester standing with an empty tray, our next round of color drinks foaming at his feet. He was staring at Val with an odd look.

"Hey, watch what you're doing!" The exclamation came from Chroma, who stood up suddenly, pushing her chair back, inadvertently ramming the corner of the chair into Lester's groin. He groaned and dropped the tray. The waitress scurried over with a broom and began to sweep away broken glass and something red and foamy, which kind of looked like blood, but was probably tomato juice. Lester was holding his hand over his fly in a protective way, standing not quite straight, with his eyes still fixed on Val, and I wondered what I was missing.

A tall thin blond guy, with soft brown eyes, dressed in RangeMan black, came forward. "Let me buy you the next round," he said. "What about some white wine? Is that a color drink?" I smiled at him. I didn't know his name, but he was a researcher for RangeMan. I'd seen him several times over the last few weeks.

"That'd be great," I said. "I'm Stephanie."

"I know," he said. "Four white wines coming up." He turned and walked toward the bar.

"Who is that guy?" I asked of no one in particular.

Lester was still standing frozen to the spot while others around him cleaned up the mess and cussed him for being clumsy. "That's Rodriquez," he muttered.

"What?" I gasped. "Rodriguez? It can't be. He doesn't look like a Rodriguez."

"It's a nickname," Lester said. "His real name is Rodney Regis. Rod Regis, aka Rodriguez. Holy Mother of Pearl, I need a drink." He turned away and walked stiff-legged to the bar. I sat down, stunned at my discovery, and forgot about Lester and his zombie impersonation.

Lula continued the conversation as if there had been no interruption. "I need to get one of them birth control shots. Dr. Milton is real good at givin' shots. I wonder if he'd give me a birth control shot."

"I dunno," I said, realizing this was my opportunity. I paused to make sure I had Chroma's attention. "I'll ask him tonight. We have a date."

"What?" Lula asked. "You got a date with my doctor?"

"Yeah," I said. "We're going out. It's about time I got a new man in my life. Joe is completely out of the picture, now." I knew Chroma was listening, but she was silent.

"Way to go, Steph," Val said. "That'll shut Mom up. She won't mind you dumping a cop if you're dating a doctor."

"What happened between you and Ranger?" Lula asked. "I figured once Officer Hottie was out of the picture, you two would get busy." I kicked her under the table. I hadn't wanted to bring up Ranger in front of Chroma.

Chroma sat totally still for a few seconds, then she stood abruptly and walked toward the group of guys standing by the bar. She gave Cal a punch in the arm and he stepped aside to let her join the group. She was one of the guys in a way I would never be, and now I understood why. I knew her departure from the table had been to cover her reaction to my announcement, and I felt both good and bad about it. Good that my dirty work was done, and bad that she'd not taken the news very well.

The white wine was delivered to the table and while the other two women sipped theirs, I gulped mine. I looked from side to side, my head swimming with the action, and I realized I was drunk. "Chroma kissed me," I said to my two remaining tablemates.

"I know," Lula said. "Tank told me."

"She kissed you?" Val questioned. "When?"

"Last night." I said. "When I took her home. I didn't mean to hurt her, but I had to let her know I'm not interested in her."

"You could have told her," Lula said.

"Yeah," Valerie agreed.

"Yeah, I could have," I said. "But I thought it would be better to show her."

"So, you're gonna show her with Dr. Milt?"

"Yes."

"That's a bad idea, Stephanie," Lula said.

"I need another drink," Val said, swirling her now empty wine glass.

"Me, too," Lula said.

"Me, three." I needed to drink until I didn't think about what I'd done.

We sat in silence for a moment, until Woody appeared. "My turn, ladies. What's your color pleasure?"

"What about a Black Russian?" Val asked.

"Those are disgusting," I said. "I want a White Russian."

"We already had a white drink," Lula said.

"I don't care," I insisted. "I don't want a black drink. I want a White Russian!"

Chroma slid onto the table in front of me, her long multicolored legs crossed and brushing up against my thigh. She reached out with a hand and tilted my face up to meet her gaze. Her blue, sometimes shy, eyes were hard, and today they were steel gray and piercing. I knew I was seeing the mercenary soldier she'd once been. "I'm a white Russian, and you don't want me." Her words came at a momentary lapse in bar conversation and they echoed off the walls. Every head turned to watch her as she slid from the table and strode out of the bar.

I stood and the room started to spin, and I sidestepped to avoid falling. "I need to go home," I said. I was going to be sick and I wanted that last humiliation to be in private.

Lester was beside me, his arm around my shoulders, and his voice was surprisingly comforting. "It's okay, Beautiful. I'll take you home. C'mon, Val," he said, tilting his head toward my sister. "Let's get baby sister home."


	22. Chapter 22

**_They don't belong to me, but I like to play with them._**

Chapter 22

It's Really All My Fault

I don't categorize first dates or rate men on a one to ten scale. I haven't had that many first dates and knowing Ranger, any other man would pale in comparison. Having said that, my date with Milton Ward was at the bottom, any way you wanted to classify it. Maybe that was because I went into it hung over, or because we had no chemistry, or, maybe, because I was carrying a major load of guilt for hurting Chroma.

After the fiasco at the Bookem', I let Val and Lester escort me back to my apartment where I fell onto my bed and took a really long nap. When I woke up I was mostly sober and completely hung over, and I had only an hour to get myself into date shape. I used part of that hour to call Chroma. There was no answer. I wasn't sure what I would have said to her, other than I was sorry, and that she was important to me. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to tell her anything.

Milt arrived promptly at seven and escorted me to his Audi A3 parked in my lot, two spaces away from the beater I was currently driving. I felt a little rush of warmth toward Lester, who'd obviously arranged for the delivery of my car from Arm and Hammer Park. With a jolt of amusement, I realized I was going back to the same place we'd started the race. The park was home to the stadium where the Trenton Thunder played.

The overcast morning had morphed into a drizzly evening, which had caught me unaware, as I'd slept all afternoon long, but Milt had come prepared. The game was nearing the midpoint when the rain started. There was a rain delay…a long one. Milt had thoughtfully brought an umbrella and we sat cozy and dry underneath it. The rain was a gentle spring shower which, according to the announcer, would pass through quickly.

There was an upbeat feeling within the crowd. Some wore disposable ponchos, some were taking shelter under umbrellas and some were just toughing it out and getting soaked, but everyone seemed to think sitting on the bleachers at the ballpark, in the rain, was fun. I tried to enjoy it. It should have been a time for conversation, flirting, and generally getting to know one another better.

We did have conversation. Milt and I talked about the team. He was very knowledgeable about the players, their stats and their possibility of making it from the minor leagues to the big show. I found the conversation minutely interesting, and realized I had not much in common with this man. I saw it in his eyes when he decided the same about me. That lightened my load of guilt a little. I didn't have to worry about hurting him when I refused another date. I was pretty sure he wouldn't ask for a second date.

When the rain finally stopped and the game started again, I was relieved. Milt went to the concession stand to buy some peanuts and a couple of beers. I used the opportunity to fumble through my purse for my phone. I was going to call Lula and have her call me back with an "emergency" so I could end the misery sooner. I couldn't find my phone and I realized with dismay I'd left it on my nightstand after I'd tried to call Chroma.

If Lester hadn't been so efficient in getting my car returned I could have taken myself home, but I had no choice except to see the date through till the end, but the end wasn't near. At the end of the ninth inning the score was tied. At the end of the tenth inning the score was tied. At the bottom of the twelfth, with two outs, a well-built player named De La Cruz made contact with a fastball and the ball sailed over the fence. The crowd cheered, and I cheered especially loud because that solo home run meant I'd be going home soon.

On the way back to the car we walked across a grassy area and I grimaced as I felt my foot sink into a mud puddle. I looked down to see my new white trainers were covered in grass and mud stains. I saw a quickly hidden grimace on Milt's face as well. He didn't want my muddy feet on his pricey Audi carpet.

"I'll take them off," I told him, "and you can put them in your trunk." When we arrived back at my apartment, I smiled and thanked him for the lovely evening. I've always been a good liar. I hopped from the car and was through the door to my building, feeling good about avoiding the awkward end of date moment, when I realized my shoes were still in his trunk. I turned to flag him down, but he was already exiting the parking lot. I wasn't the only one who'd been looking forward to the end of the evening. I shrugged and made my way, in my stocking feet, to the apartment door.

I needed a nice, long, hot shower, and despite the lateness of the hour, I was going to take one. A glance at the clock on my bedside table confirmed the ballgame had lasted over five hours. My damp clothes found a temporary home in the laundry basket in the corner. I was naked and half way to the bathroom when I caught sight of the blinking green light. I went to the nightstand and picked up my phone.

There were three missed calls from Ranger, all earlier in the evening. There was one text message that simply stated, "Call me." No wasted words. A demand, not a request. Ranger had heard something. I didn't know if he'd heard about Chroma and me at the bar, or heard that I'd had a date. What I did know was that I wasn't calling him back until tomorrow…well until later today, I amended, as I noticed the time. It was 1:30 a.m.

Twenty minutes later, when I got out of the shower, I wrapped the towel around myself and walked into the bedroom to find something to sleep in. I wanted a nice soft t-shirt. A black one, with a RangeMan logo embroidered over my heart. I flexed my hand and decided to sleep without the brace. It seemed like a lifetime ago that I'd punched Joe. In reality, it was only a little over a month. It was four weeks since I'd had my fabulous night with Ranger, followed by my disastrous morning…the morning I'd escaped RangeMan to spend the day with Chroma at the safe house.

I stopped short when I saw Ranger standing in my bedroom doorway. He was backlit from the lamp in the living room so I couldn't see his features, but I sensed at once, all was not well.

I took a step toward him, and he took a step toward me. "What's wrong?" I asked, because I was sure something was.

"You didn't return my calls," he said. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and he looked reminiscent of the Ranger I'd first met. He was unsmiling.

"Ranger, what is it? You act like someone's died." My heart skipped a beat, because that was exactly what he was acting like. He reached out and ran a hand through my wet hair and then rested both hands on my bare shoulders.

"No one died, Babe. It's Morelli. He was attacked earlier this evening, at his home. He's at Helene Fuld in serious condition."

"Serious condition?" There were many things I wanted to say, and to ask, but my mind wouldn't wrap around the words. "What happened?"

"No one knows exactly what happened," Ranger said. "There was significant head trauma, as well as a ruptured spleen, a collapsed lung and rib fractures."

"Dear God," I said. It might have been a prayer. "Is he brain damaged?"

He shrugged. "His condition is serious, but stable. He was conscious and alert enough to call 911, but by the time the EMTs got to him he was in and out of consciousness. He had to go to surgery for the spleen, and he's out now, but still in recovery. He'll go to ICU after that. I don't know the particulars about his head injuries." I stood with my bath towel wrapped loosely around me, not knowing what to do next.

"Get dressed, Babe. I'll take you to the hospital." Those words galvanized me into action. I turned away and wrapped my towel more tightly around my naked body. And then I stopped.

"No," I said. "I'm not going to the hospital. I'm sure his family is there and probably Terry Gilman. There's no need for me to be there. I care about Joe, but not in the way that would make me go to the hospital."

I found a t-shirt in my dresser drawer and pulled it on over the towel, and then I loosened the towel and let it drop. I sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at Ranger. "How do you know all of this?" I asked. "Do you have someone on the inside?"

"Yes, RangeMan has someone on the force that reports to us." I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was, a little. I wondered if it was Carl, who had always been a little pro-Ranger.

"Where were you, tonight?" Ranger asked. He squatted in front of me, took my hands in his and raised them, running his fingers over the back of my hands. He looked closely at my knuckles and turned my palms outward, inspecting them. I pulled them away.

"What are you doing?" I really didn't understand his actions, but I didn't like them, or the tension that was radiating from him.

"Where were you tonight that you couldn't answer my calls and text?" he asked again.

That presented a problem. Did he know I'd been on a date? Was this a test of some kind to see if I'd be honest? "I was out," I said. "I accidentally left my phone at home."

"Out where?"

I ignored the question and asked one of my own. "Do you mind if we take this conversation to the living room?"

He ignored my question. "Tell me where you were, Stephanie."

"It's not important where I was," I said. "I was out. I'm sorry about not returning your calls. I would have if I'd had my phone with me. And I'm sorry you had to come over here in the middle of the night to tell me."

"I didn't just come to tell you about Joe," he said. "I came to be your alibi."

"My alibi?"

"Before they took Morelli to surgery, Brian Simon tried to talk to him. He only got an answer to one question, before Joe went completely out. Brian asked him if he knew his attacker, and Morelli mumbled something Brian didn't completely understand. As a matter of fact, he only understood one word. 'Stephanie'."

"Stephanie?" I asked, astounded. "He said I did it? I didn't."

"Can you prove that you didn't?"

I could prove it, but I didn't feel like telling Ranger. He was acting so strange. Surely, he didn't think I did it.

"Ranger, you know I didn't do this."

"I know you didn't do this, Babe," he said. We both stood, with Ranger so close his breath ruffled my drying curls. "But the cops will be around asking, and I'm here. When they ask, you can tell them we spent the night together."

"I, I don't need an alibi," I said, stumbling over the words. "I appreciate your offer, but I can prove my whereabouts tonight."

"Where were you?" he asked. I'd lost track of the number of times he asked. He knew where I'd been, I thought. He probably had a tracker on me. He just wanted to hear me say it.

"I had a date. We went to the ball game." He didn't respond. It was an old interrogation trick. Joe had once told me the best way to get an unwilling witness to talk was just to say nothing and wait. I knew that's what Ranger was doing. I was aware I was being manipulated, but it still worked. I couldn't stand the intense stare I was getting.

"I had a date with Milton Ward. He's a doctor. Lula's doctor. We went to the ballgame. And then we came home."

"So your alibi is you were with another man?"

"I was with a man, but not in the way you're suggesting. I couldn't be with another man unless there is a man to start out with, and there isn't." My chin had lifted and without even realizing it, I was spoiling for a fight.

"There is nothing between you and Joe any longer, then?"

"Of course there is," I said. "I couldn't spend that many years of my life with a man and then just turn off my emotions. He's not my lover, and he's not my friend, but I wouldn't wish any harm on him. And I didn't attack him. I punched him in the jaw and paid for it for the next month. But I didn't do this."

It came to me then what he'd been doing when he held my hands. He was looking for damage. Whoever attacked Joe had used his hands. Or hers. The realization made my stomach drop, and I folded my arms as pain lanced through my mid-section. I thought I might be sick, and I ran for the bathroom. I leaned against the tile wall and took slow, deep breaths until my nausea subsided. Chroma had attacked Joe. I didn't know why Joe had said it was me. There was no way he could have mistaken her for me, but she had attacked him, and I might have driven her to it.

Ranger stood in the door way to the bathroom. "Are you all right?" he asked. I looked into the mirror and saw his reflection behind me. He was somber, his face totally unreadable. I hoped there was concern for me, but it could have just as easily been anger.

"I didn't do it," I said. "Surely you don't believe I could have."

"I know you didn't do it. The police questioned neighbors and one of them said she'd seen a tall blonde woman enter the house in the early evening. She said the woman was much taller than the blonde who usually spends time there."

"Chroma?" I asked. He nodded.

"Where is she?"

"I don't know," he said. "She's not in her apartment. She was supposed to work a shift tonight and she didn't show."

"So, you know it was Chroma and yet you're still here looking at my hands to make sure it wasn't me. And you're willing to lie and say you've been with me all night? How magnanimous of you, Ranger." I'd gone from being concerned about Joe, to worried about being blamed for the attack, to horrified at the realization it was Chroma, to smoldering with white hot anger at Ranger. I wanted to run. I wanted to run like I'd run the day I saw Joe and Terry. But I couldn't run. I wasn't dressed, and Ranger was in my door way. He seemed to be pretty much of an unmovable object. So, I stood staring at him wondering what to do next.

The ring of my phone was a discordant interruption. Ranger stepped back, and I walked quickly past him to answer. I looked at the number and frowned.

"It's Milt. I need to take this."

"The man you were with tonight?"

"Yes. I left my shoes in his car, and I'm betting he's calling to tell me he found them."

He took the phone from my hand, clicked it off and set it back down on the night stand. "You're not bringing another man into this conversation," he said.

"Will you quit saying another man?" I asked. "Another man implies more than one, and we both know there is no other man in my life."

"There is. We both know there_ is _another man. I'm in your life." He came close. His hands reached out and cupped my face. "I'm in your life, Babe," he repeated. "I've never left your life." And then his mouth covered mine.

We made love. It might have been wrong, with Joe in the hospital and Chroma missing, but we made love. It was deliberate and passionate. It was two people with equal need coming together and lighting fire to a faulty connection that had been smoldering for years. And when we were done we lay in each other's arms, finding satisfaction in the closeness. I felt his emotions surrounding me as surely as I felt his arms around me, and I made a silent vow to never mention the "R" word again. I felt desire, and caring and concern, and if it wasn't a drop to a knee and propose marriage type of love, it no longer mattered. I would take what he would give, not asking for more, and I would give him every part of myself. And it would be enough. I wasn't alone. I had Ranger on my side.

He nuzzled my temple with his lips and I thought maybe he was getting ready for round two. I placed my palm against his chest and reveled in the smooth velvet of his skin.

"Ranger, we need to talk. I need to tell you about me and Chroma. This is…it's really all my fault."


	23. Chapter 23

_**As always, I use them for fun and not for profit. I have been traveling in an area with limited internet access, so I have been unable to individually respond to my reviews, but I appreciate each and every one of them. In fact, in order to post this chapter I'm standing on the roof of my car using my phone (only slightly exaggerating). **_

Chapter 23

Preparation for Reparation

Ranger was quiet, his arms still wrapped around me as he listened. I told him everything, from my initial jealousy of Chroma's influence over Lula, to the callous way I'd used Milton Ward to show her I wasn't interested in her.

I didn't know what his response would be, but he surprised me. "I have to share some of the blame as well," he told me. "I saw a propensity for violence in her and a joy in inflicting pain that should have been a red flag."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I pushed up on one elbow and shoved Ranger a little. He rolled onto his back and I moved in closer to him. We were wrapped in blankets, our bodies still damp, in the afterglow of possibly the best sex I'd ever had, and we were having one of the most serious conversations we'd ever had.

"I mean," he said, "I noticed several times during the sparring sessions, she was very close to losing control. She's good, but she's a woman and not physically capable of besting someone with equal training and more muscle mass."

"You mean you?"

"Yes. I held back when we sparred. It was supposed to be exercise, but several times she came close to crossing the line, to losing control."

"Do you think she lost control with Joe?" I asked. Ranger's hand trailed down my back, his fingers making lazy circles at the base of my spine, but I kept my concentration focused on our words.

"I do," he said simply.

"Do you think Joe fought back?"

"Yes. According to my information, he had defensive wounds. He put up a fight, and that may be why he's still alive. I imagine Chroma didn't walk away from this fight completely unbruised either."

"Still, it's my fault. I should have just pulled my courage together when she kissed me and told her it wasn't going to happen. Lula told me not to lead her on, and I didn't, honestly, but she still kissed me."

"I can't comment on how you handled the situation, Babe. If you say you made a mistake, I'll trust your judgment, but that didn't give Chroma the right to take her vengeance out on Morelli."

"I did make a mistake," I said. "This time it's really all my fault and it could have been avoided if I hadn't been so stupid about how I dealt with her."

"It may be your fault that she got her feelings hurt," Ranger said. "But being hurt did not give her the right to attack someone else. It was irrational behavior, on her part."

"What are you saying?" I asked.

"I'm saying she wasn't thinking clearly. I've seen small instances that worried me with her on the job performance, like rough takedowns and the near loss of control during sparring sessions with me and several of the men, and I overlooked it. I felt, hell—I feel a responsibility toward her. Anatoly sent her to me to take care of. I failed in some respects, so this present situation is as much my fault as anyone's."

"You didn't fail."

"I hired her as soon as I knew who she was. I didn't check deeply enough into her background, because I felt I owed her brother. She's been through a lot, and I think she may be suffering from PTSD, or something like it." Ranger rolled over and moved on top of me. He kissed me and let one hand trail to my breast. His fingers grazed my nipple, and I almost forgot to think.

I turned my head to break the kiss. "Ranger, we can't do this. We need to find Chroma, and warn her."

"Warn her about what?" Ranger asked. He moved his leg between mine, and I could feel the length of him.

"We could warn her that the police will be coming after her," I said. My voice was shaky because I was fighting a losing battle to stay focused on Chroma.

He intensified his exploration of my breast. "Not now, Babe. There's nothing we can do at this moment. Chroma's not on the police radar yet. I doubt they get any answer out of Morelli any time soon. He'll be heavily medicated for a while."

Ranger moaned and I realized my hand had slid down his side and was angling to get between our bodies, to touch him. He moved to make my job easier. But my conscious mind took control of my hand, and I pulled back. I asked, "Where is she? She might be hurt. We've got to look for her."

"Chroma's hiding somewhere, so she's in no immediate danger. We'll wait a while to see if she contacts me. If she doesn't, then I'll find her." He said it with such authority that I let him claim my full attention. A little part of me wanted to insist that we find Chroma, but the biggest part of me needed what Ranger was giving me, so I pushed Chroma from my mind as well. But she came back.

Later, when Ranger was asleep and I was lying next to him, my head on his chest, I began to wonder why Joe had said my name. I listened to Ranger's slow, steady heart beat and felt the soft rise and fall as he breathed. What was happening between us felt good and necessary. I knew we were finally on the right path, but I couldn't completely enjoy it, not when Chroma was missing.

I gave Ranger's shoulder a little push and his breathing pattern changed, slightly.

"Ranger. Ranger, wake up."

"Hmmm."

"Wake up," I insisted. "I'm trying to figure out why Joe would say it was me."

"Maybe he wasn't," Ranger said. His voice was husky with sleep. "Maybe he was just calling for you."

"Ha! If he called for anyone it would be Terry. Maybe he said Stephanie, because…" I was silent for a moment considering the options and then it came to me. "He _was_ trying to tell Brian Simon who hurt him. He was trying to say Stephanie's friend. He met Chroma the night he came to my apartment to bring our Pino's order. He _was_ trying to ID his attacker."

I rolled away from him and reached for the lamp on the bedside table. Ranger threw a hand over his eyes and sighed. Before he could distract me with his body I jumped from the bed, realized I was naked, and bent to find the shirt I had hurriedly discarded earlier. I pulled it on and turned to see Ranger, leaning on an elbow watching me. I couldn't tell if it was resignation or a determination to get me back into bed that made him listen.

"Joe will tell the police it was her," I said. "What will happen if they find her? I know Chroma isn't her real name. If the police discover her real identity she could be in serious trouble."

"She'll be in serious trouble, real name or not," Ranger said. "She attacked a police officer. Other cops don't take kindly to that. But we have a window here. I'm thinking at least twenty-four hours. Like I said before, Morelli is going to be in no condition to talk for a while and you don't know for certain he was trying to ID her, by saying she was your friend. Come back to bed." He held out his hand to me.

I sighed and gave up. I switched the light off and climbed back into bed. Ranger pulled me against him and we fell asleep with our bodies intermingled. It couldn't have been more than an hour later when Ranger's phone buzzed. He disentangled himself from me and reached for it.

He didn't answer with his typical "Yo," but said hello in a conventional manner. That set off little alarm bells in my head, and I sat up and overtly eavesdropped. I didn't hear much, because mostly he listened. Finally he said, "I'll be there in ten. Don't let her leave. Call me if there is any trouble. "

"Chroma?" I asked as soon as he disconnected.

"That was Ella. Chroma is at RangeMan with Luis and Ella."

"Luis and Ella?" I echoed his words in my surprise.

"Yes. She's fond of Ella. They got to know each other well when Chroma used their apartment to shower after sparring."

"She showered in Ella's apartment?"

"Yes," Ranger said. "Where did you think she showered?"

"I, uh, I guess I never thought about it," I lied. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to talk to her. After that, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. It's possible, but unlikely that she is innocent."

He made another call and hit speaker as he got up and began to dress. I heard Tank's low growl. "Is this important?"

"We have a situation at RangeMan," Ranger told him. "I need you to destroy any in-house video from the last eight hours that shows any sign of Chroma. Loop it back if you have to. The video needs to be seamless."

"I'll get someone on it," Tank responded.

I watched Ranger finish dressing and tried to think of what I could do. There was the barest framework of a plan bouncing around in my head. Chroma couldn't stay in Trenton. She'd have to leave and maybe I could help with that.

"Ranger," I said, "I have an idea to help Chroma." He didn't respond, but I knew he was listening. "You said Chroma's identity is fake. Will it stand up to police investigation?"

"It will. It's not a WITSEC identity, but it's WITSEC quality."

"Does she have another identity, I mean besides her own?

"She might," he said. Ha, I thought. She does.

"Could you use the other identity? To get her out of Trenton, I mean. Could you get her to someplace where she'd be safe?"

"Babe, do you realize what you're asking? You are asking me to help the woman who brutalized your ex-lover to get off free. Do you want to do that? Doesn't the person responsible for hurting him need to be held accountable?"

I shrugged. "Putting Chroma in jail, either under her present identity or maybe her real one, won't help Joe. What's done is done. He'll recover eventually and it won't go any faster or be less painful with her in jail."

"Can you really do that to Joe?" he asked. I thought about it. I could live with Chroma getting away. I felt like I was a part of what had caused the attack so my helping her would be justified. I was sorry for Joe, and I was betting on some level Chroma was sorry for what she'd done.

"Yes," I said. "I can live with that. I'm trying to hold myself accountable for hurting Chroma. Will you help her? Will you help me to help her?"

"I'll see what I can do," he said.

He prepared to leave, and I slid out of bed to walk with him to the door. "Here is how I'll help," I said. "You said the cops would be by to talk to me. I have a good alibi between Milton and you. And when Joe is conscious he'll tell them it wasn't me. In the meantime, I'm going to make it look like I am the guilty one…and here is something that will help."

I turned and hurried back into the bedroom. On the shelf of my closet I found the wig I was going to donate to Lula, the wig I'd worn the night this all started. I plopped it on my head and went back into the living room where Ranger was waiting patiently by the door. I grinned at Ranger. "I'll be the blonde the cops are looking for," I said.

He pulled the wig off my head and tossed it across the room where it landed on the arm of the sofa. And then I was in his arms and he was kissing me. Deeply, hungrily, as though we hadn't just spent a large part of the night making love.

"Be careful, Babe. I'll do what I can, so I may need to disappear for a few days. Call Tank with any problems." He kissed me again and then he looked me straight in the eyes. "I love you."

I smiled. "I know," I said. "You love me, in your own way."

"In every way, Stephanie." And he was gone, and I was left standing in a puddle of warmth at the remembrance of his words.

I spent the time after he left mentally filling in the details of my plan. When the cops came to talk to me, I had to look guilty. I had a "Eureka!" moment when I remembered I'd never returned Joe's key. I placed the wig on the table and the key next to it. Labeling it as Joe's key might be overkill.

I showered, dressed and sat down on the sofa to wait for the police or a call from Ranger. It was 5 a.m. and as the minutes clicked by I thought of Joe. We'd been so close for so long. I truly wanted no harm to come to him ever, but I couldn't sacrifice Chroma to the Trenton police. I had only known Chroma a short time and despite her killer instinct and warrior ways, there was a sense of vulnerability about her. My eyes widened when I realized I felt almost maternal in my need to protect her. I had faith Ranger could get her out of Trenton under the radar of the Trenton P.D., but what if she didn't want to go?

I fell asleep and came upright on the sofa at the sound of my phone. I grabbed it without checking the caller ID. "Hello." I could hear the anxiousness in my voice.

It was not Ranger, or Tank, or Chroma, or even the Trenton P.D. I half expected it could have been any one of those, but my mother's voice threw me completely off.

"I'm calling about, Joe," she said.

"I didn't do it, Mom."

"You've heard then?"

"Yes, Ranger told me."

"What do you mean, you didn't do it?" she asked.

"Ranger told me when they asked Joe who did it, he said my name."

"I just talked to Angie Morelli," my mother said. "Joe is in stable condition and improving. The police are investigating. Apparently, there are witnesses in the neighborhood. No one has said a word about it being you. That's ridiculous."

I was silent considering the problems Ranger might have if I didn't run interference with the police. "Stephanie," my mother said, a note of concern in her voice. "You're, uhm, you're not involved in this, are you?"

"Of course not." We talked for a few more minutes and then disconnected. When the phone rang again I checked the caller ID. Carl Constanza.

"Hey, Carl."

"Hey, Steph. This call didn't happen. Brian Simon and his shadow Eddie Plebe are coming to talk to you in an hour or so. They want to catch you off guard, but I didn't think that was right."

"Thanks, Carl, but there's nothing to worry about here." I disconnected and looked down at the phone in my hands. My mind flashed back to the night before when Ranger had examined my hands. The wig and the key were on the table, looking like they'd been tossed there in a hurry. There was one more thing I had to do.

I ran down stairs and outside to the back of my brick building, I closed my eyes and gave the wall a one-two punch. My left hand stung immediately where the brick grazed my knuckles…and then waves of pain radiated from my right hand. Familiar pain, way more intense than I remembered. I made my way back up the stairs and collapsed on the sofa to wait.


	24. Chapter 24

_**I don't own them!**_

Chapter 24

Many Happy Returns

The pain from my hand was intense, and there was pain medicine from the time before in my cupboard. I resisted taking it, because I wanted to keep as clear a head as possible. I'd known Brian Simon, and disliked him, since he'd abandoned Bob on my doorstep. Never mind that I loved Bob, Simon had been dishonest in his dealings with me. This might be payback time. So I sat on the sofa and counted the beats of my heart, which I was pretty sure corresponded to the throbbing in my hand, and waited for Brian and his shadow Eddie to appear.

When the knock came, I bounded from the sofa and stopped cold to wait for the dizziness and nausea to subside. I made my way to the door while little black spots danced in the periphery of my vision. The huge shadow that fell upon me when I opened the door belonged to Tank.

"Hey," I said weakly, cradling my arm against my body.

"You're hurt," he said. "Does Ranger know?"

I shook my head. "I called him earlier, but there was no answer."

"Get your purse, or some ID. We're going to the Emergency Room."

"I can't," I said. I groaned involuntarily as I moved back to let him in. "I'm expecting a visit from Brian Simon and his partner. They want to question me." My knees were about to buckle and maybe Tank had ESP, too, because he took hold of my good arm and led me back to the sofa.

"Where's your purse?" he asked.

"On the table." He walked into the dining room and looked down at the key and wig next to my purse. He came back to me and gazed at the abraded knuckles on my left hand and the obvious malformation of my right hand. And then he just stood and stared.

"I didn't do it," I said, "but I need to make it look like I did." He still said nothing. When the knock came at the door this time, he held out his hand to me, palm facing outwards. It was a silent command to stay, and I obeyed. He opened the door.

I heard Brian, but I couldn't see him with Tank filling the doorway. "Uh, we're looking for Stephanie Plum."

"She's here, but she can't talk to you right now," Tank said. He spoke with no emotion, just a straightforward statement that I couldn't talk. But I could talk. In fact, I had to talk.

"It's all right," I said. "Let them in."

Tank stepped back and let them in and they walked into the living room as though they owned the place. Normally, I admired the confidence with which they worked, but today it seemed a little intimidating.

"As you can see, Ms. Plum is injured," Tank told them. "I'm taking her to the hospital for treatment. You can speak to her after she's been seen in the E.R."

I saw Eddie Plebe's eyes staring at my battered hands. Brian's gaze was intently focused on the table. He was taking in the blond wig. Tank walked to the table and picked up my bag. He came and helped me to my feet. "Is that your house key?" he asked me quietly, but not quietly enough. Bless you, Tank, I thought.

"No. It's Jo… a friend's. My key is in my purse." Now Eddie and Brian were looking at one another.

"You'll need to leave now, gentlemen," Tank said. "I'm taking the lady to the hospital. She can talk to you after she's had treatment."

"Is that your wig?" Brian asked me, completely ignoring Tank.

I nodded. "Let me repeat," Tank said in a much louder voice. "I'm taking the lady to the hospital. Unless you have a search warrant, when I close this door behind us you'll be trespassing."

Brian and Eddie left with a promise to see me later, and I let Tank carefully manhandle me down the stairs, outside, and into a RangeMan SUV.

"What hospital?" Tank asked.

"Last time I went to Helene Fuld," I said. "I guess I'd better go back there."

"How'd you do it?" he asked.

"You don't want to know."

"Does Ranger know about your plan?"

"Yes," I said, "but he doesn't know I reinjured my hand. I tried to call him, but he didn't answer. Do you know where he is?"

"I know what he's doing," Tank said. "He told me to let you know things were under control. That's what I came by to tell you." I knew what Ranger was doing, too, so I said nothing. The effort of talking was almost more than I could handle in any case. We were entering the hospital parking lot when Tank's eyes left the road to linger for a moment on my swollen hand. "You do that on purpose?" he asked.

"Nooo," I said. It was more of a groan than a word. "I just wanted to rough up my hands, but I think I might have rebroken the bone."

"No shit."

The E.R. was quiet early in the morning. I was able to get through the process of admission and x-rays fairly quickly, and a sympathetic nurse brought in a nice white pill for me to swallow. I didn't bother to ask what it was. I just trusted that it would take the edge off the pain. The E.R. doctor was not Ilene Jefferies this time, and I was grateful for that.

The x-rays made it official. I had re-fractured the bone at the site of the original break, but this time I had displaced the bone as well. I barely hit the wall. I wondered what would have happened if I'd really tried. An hour and a half after I entered the E.R., I was leaving with a new cast and absolutely no pain. I'd been warned the pain would return later. The doctor had numbed my hand in order to press the bone back into alignment. The new cast was going to stay on for six weeks to insure my hand was totally healed before removal.

Tank had his meaty hand wrapped around my upper left arm, giving me needed stability. We were almost through the door to the parking lot when I heard my name being called. We turned simultaneously to see Brian Simon walking toward us from the E.R. waiting room. "I'm still waiting to talk to you, Stephanie," he said.

"She can't talk now," Tank said.

Brian puffed out his chest and looked up to meet Tank's eyes which were at least six inches above his. "She can talk to me here, or she can talk to me at the station, buddy. What's it gonna be?"

Tank took no notice of the aggressive stance or tone of voice. "She's medicated. You can't talk to her now. If you take her to the station, her attorney will be coming with her."

Brian turned his attention away from Tank. "So, Stephanie, what did you do that you already have an attorney? Feeling a little guilty about something?"

"I didn't do anything," I said. "My sister did it. She married a lawyer and now he's my lawyer."

Brian scowled and was about to say something when Eddie Plebe hurried up to his side. "Morelli's awake," he announced. "We can talk to him for five minutes every hour, as long as he's in ICU." They turned in unison and headed toward the elevator.

I allowed Tank to help me up into the SUV and settled in for the ride back to my apartment. Even in my drugged state it didn't take long to figure out we weren't going back to my place. I looked over at Tank with raised eyebrows.

"I'm not taking you back to your place where Simon and his pet monkey can interrogate you. I called Lula and she called your mama. I'm taking you there. The last thing you need is for Simon to question you, even if Kloughn is present." His tone brooked no opposition, so I didn't even try. I dreaded the thought of my mother's questions more than I did Brian's, but it would be nice to be fussed over, and I knew that would happen as well.

Twenty-four hours of nagging and care and concern were all I could handle. I called Lula the next morning and asked her to come and pick me up. I had a brief moment of worry, that I should have concocted a back story, to explain my hand. I had been going to tell Brian that I'd tripped and fallen, but thanks to Tank's intervention I hadn't had to tell him anything at all. And by this time, they probably had the information they needed from Joe, if Joe had been able to remember.

When I opened my mother's door to Lula, she spoke before I could. "I've got news to tell you, Stephanie. Big news…and it ain't good news. Sorry about your hand. Tank told me how you were upset about Chroma. About what she said to you at the Bookem. He told me you punched a wall. You gotta learn to control that temper, Stephanie."

"Is that the news?" I asked as I got into the Firebird. "I mean is everyone talking about how I punched a wall?"

"No," Lula said. "The news is Ranger got a letter, right before he had to go to Boston on business. It's a letter of resignation from Chroma. And Joe's in the hospital. I know you heard about that, cause Tank said the police thought you'd done it, but Joe told them, _and this is the big news_, Joe told them Chroma beat him up."

"Joe told them Chroma was responsible?" I asked, trying to interject a note of surprise in my voice.

"Yeah," Lula said, "and now she's gone, and I'm missing my friend. Her little sports car is sittin' all lonely at her apartment, and I got no one to train me. I'm worried about her."

I wasn't worried about Chroma. I trusted Ranger to see her to a place of safety, and I knew Ranger would somehow arrange for her care. I also knew Chroma was hurting, and the sense of guilt and complicity I felt overwhelmed me. I started to cry.

"You're worried about her, too," Lula said when she saw my tears.  
"I can't believe she beat up Joe. You think he's tellin' the truth?"

"I do," I said through my tears. "Lula, are we still friends?"

She looked across the car at me, surprise evident in her dark eyes. "Of course we are. Why wouldn't we be? We're friends and partners." I knew her use of the word partner was a reference to our bounty hunter work, but it made me think of Chroma, and her desire to be a different kind of partner to me. I made my decision as Lula pulled into my parking lot. I needed to keep the story quiet, but I felt Lula had a need to know.

"Come inside with me," I told her. "There's something I have to tell you."

Lula listened quietly to me as I told her about my miserable date with Milt and Ranger's arrival. I told her of Joe's possible implication of me, and of Ranger's and my thought that it was Chroma who injured Joe.

"Why would she do that?" Lula asked. "I think we're missin' part of the story."

"I think so, too," I admitted. "Chroma knew I wasn't into women, but she still made a move on me. She knew Joe had hurt me, but I can't think she'd attack him because of that, especially when I'd just hurt her so badly in the bar with my announcement."

"You're right about her knowin' you weren't into women," Lula said. "I told her myself. Not that we spent all our workout time talkin' about you, but the subject did come up."

I told her about the plan I'd devised, to stall the Trenton P.D., and give Ranger time to get Chroma out of town. I knew it was imperative that no one else know, but I owed Lula. She was worried about Chroma and besides, I was thinking Tank knew a lot more than he'd let on. She left me with a hug and a promise that she'd tell no one, and this time I thought she could be trusted to keep her word. She took the wig with her.

I spent the next two days in my apartment. The situation was getting serious as the box of cereal I had been eating dry was down to one more serving. No news from Ranger, but I hadn't expected any. My eyes went time and time again to the key on my table. It was time to rejoin the world. I had a RangeMan client appointment in two more days. I couldn't hibernate for much longer.

On sudden impulse I called Angie Morelli. She was polite, but reserved, when she told me Joe was out of ICU and could possibly be discharged in a few days. It was time to get some answers.

I showered and fixed my hair as best I could. I should have been used to the whole one-handed thing by this time, but it was still awkward. When I pulled my jeans on, they were, to my surprise, loose. It might have been the cereal diet, or it might have been the running. My limited grooming was done and I was ready to go. Joe's key was in my pocket as I exited my apartment.

When I walked into his hospital room I was shocked by his swollen and battered appearance, and from the look in his eyes he was shocked by me appearing in front of him.

"Hey," I said. It was the best I could do as I was overcome with an unexpected burst of emotion, which somehow lodged in my throat.

"Hey," he answered back.

He was sitting in a chair next to the bed, wearing a pair of hospital issue pajama bottoms. There was a white dressing covering the upper left side of his abdomen and a small dressing covering an area on his right side. His skin was mottled with green and yellowing bruises and his eyes were shadowed with purple. I pulled the key out of my pocket and laid it on the bedside table.

"Here's your key," I said. "I never returned it."

"You came now to return my key?" he asked, summoning up a derisive smirk.

"No," I said, "I came to find out what happened. And I came to tell you I'm…okay with you and Terry. I want to put all of this behind us, but first I have to know what happened, why Chroma attacked you."

"Because she's fucking insane," he said. I stared at him. There was a story here. I knew it. I wasn't leaving until I heard it. Joe sighed. "Sit down, Stephanie. I'll tell you what I can. I don't remember it all, but I guess I owe you what I can remember."

I sat and listened to Joe's halting story. "I was on my way into the Bookem," he said. "I'd gotten a call from one of the guys, so I knew you were in there. I was just going to go in and sit at the bar to see what was going on, but I met Chroma on my way in. She asked me if I was going in there to see you. I didn't answer. Then she said that she and I had a lot in common and we should discuss it sometime. I think she'd been drinking, and she wasn't making a lot of sense."

"We'd all been drinking," I said.

"I decided I'd like to know what we had in common, so I invited her to come to my place for dinner that evening. She showed up on time and things were going pretty well," Joe told me. "I kissed her and she'd pulled back and told me she now understood how you'd felt. I told her there was nothing between you and me any longer, and I tried to kiss her again and it's a blur from that point on. But I remember her foot in my ribs." He grimaced as he looked down at the small bandage on his right side. "I finally got the chest tube out this morning. She's a crazy bitch, and I hope Simon finds her."

Joe was winded and sat silently after he finished his story. I sat, too, now with a much better understanding of what had happened. Did I owe Joe an explanation? I didn't know, but I was going to give him at least a partial one.

"Chroma's gay," I stated flatly. "She was probably threatened by what you thought was a charming move, and she thought were cave-man-type antics…so she defended herself. When she told you she understood how I felt, she was referring to a move she made on me."

We sat there in silence as we both processed the facts. The facts were Joe cheated on me with Terry, and he'd attempted to cheat on Terry with Chroma. I wasn't sure what had motivated Chroma to go see Joe, but when she'd arrived he'd made an aggressive move toward her, and she'd responded in the way she knew best. Ranger had said he'd seen her near the point of losing control. My guess was it had finally happened.

I stood. "Good-bye, Joe." I turned and left the room without waiting for a response from him and ran smack into Brian Simon on his way in. He turned and followed me into the hallway.

"I need to talk to you, Plum." I stopped. He continued. "If you think you're getting away with something, you're not."

"What do you mean, Brian? I didn't attack Joe."

"No but the person that did got away clean. And I think you helped her. That makes you an accessory, and if we can't find her, we can charge you with her crime."

His words didn't scare me. I had confidence in Ranger's ability to keep me out of it. "You can try, Brian, but you won't be successful, because I didn't do anything wrong." I walked away from him and opted for the stairs, all five flights, as opposed to waiting for the elevator. I'd had enough of Brian Simon, and of Joe Morelli for that matter.

I walked toward my car at the back of the visitor lot, lost in thought. The little hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention suddenly, so I became attentive, too. I raised my gaze from the sidewalk toward my car. Ranger, in black corporate attire, was leaning casually against my rusty fender, arms crossed loosely against his chest. As I came close to him, he reached out and touched my cast before he enfolded me in his arms. I'd returned Joe's key, and Ranger had returned to me. Things were looking up.


	25. Chapter 25

_**I use them for fun, and not for profit.**_

Chapter 25

Perfectly Imperfect

"You're not perfect," I said. He didn't answer. I wiggled his foot and repeated myself. "You're not perfect. You have a lump on the top of your left foot."

"Babe."

"No, seriously," I said. My head was lying atop his shin, and I was looking at his right foot. There was no lump. I rolled and rested my weight on my elbows. His hand cupped my ass at the exact time I realized that if my head was at his feet, then my butt was aimed right at his...I quickly swung around and slid into his embrace.

I couldn't let it drop. "In the past, when Lula and Connie would ask me about you I'd just say you were perfect. But you're not. Your feet are asymmetrical. You have a lump on one."

"I broke it," he said, "and then I broke it again in the same place during my airborne training. I jumped out of a plane and landed wrong." As his words sunk in, I looked at my casted hand. I'd broken it twice in the same place.

"Will I have a lump?" I asked.

"Maybe." He rolled over on top of me and kissed me. That was the end of our pillow talk for a while. After he'd met me outside the hospital, he'd taken me to his apartment. There was no chance for talk, as we'd come together as soon as we were past the prying lens of the security cameras. It was, at once, new and familiar. Ranger and I had been lovers from time to time in the past so our bodies weren't uncharted territory with one another, but it was different now.

Now, each time we made love I knew there'd be a next time. It was not less passionate than before, but maybe less frenzied. When I was between times with Joe, there was always the thought that this time with Ranger might be the last time. That eventually Joe would come to his senses and he and I would walk off into the sunset. Joe was part of my past now, I was certain. When I'd first contemplated a relationship with Ranger, I'd thought of it in much the same terms as I'd thought about a relationship with Joe. But Ranger was not Joe.

I'd always thought Ranger couldn't do a relationship, until the night he'd told me he_ wouldn't_ do a relationship. Ranger and I were thinking along parallel lines—the kind of lines that never cross one another. I wanted the ring, the dress and the ceremony, because it's what I'd expected from Joe. He wanted no ring, no dress (or tuxedo) and no ceremony. _Now_, that was okay with me. I'd take what I could get.

I became aware of a finger trailing down between my breasts and realized I'd mentally drifted into a place far removed from the bed where I was lying, tangled around Ranger.

"Hey," I said lazily. "You can't want more all ready?"

He smiled. "I can, but I was just trying to get your attention. You were miles away."

"Not so far away," I said. "I was thinking about a few weeks ago. When I told you I couldn't do casual sex." I felt Ranger stiffen slightly beside me, and I curled in closer to him. I continued. "The thing is, I don't think this is casual sex."

"No," he said. "It's not casual."

"Well, I _can_ do this, Ranger." I climbed on top of him and kissed him with such emotion and passion that I surprised myself, and almost derailed myself from what I needed to say. "You said you don't do relationships, but we're already doing one. It's not traditional but neither am I, and certainly, you're not!"

"So, you'll settle for this?" Ranger asked me. There was something about the tone of his voice, about the grittiness of his gaze. I felt a moment's fear, as though I was being led into a trap, but I answered honestly.

"I'm not settling. I need you in my life. I have since I first met you. And you are in my life. Even when I was with Joe, you were there in the background, helping me when I needed it and giving me space to do my own work when I didn't need your help. I don't want that to change."

"So, you are content to work for me, be my friend and occasionally spend the day in bed with me?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. No hesitation.

"And you have no regrets?" He was persistent in his questioning. I knew I was probably missing some finer point, but I answered the question.

"No regrets, at least about us."

"Regrets about what, then?"

"My hand, "I said, and I saw an eyebrow raise in surprise. "I wanted so badly to help Chroma. I remembered the way you looked at my hands, and I thought they needed to look like they'd been in a fight, you know, to throw off Brian and Eddie. I wanted them to think I was guilty. And it worked, sort of. Joe regained consciousness early the next morning and told them the truth."

"You broke your hand for Chroma?" Ranger asked.

"Not really," I said. "The break part was an accident. But now Brian thinks I was trying to do…exactly what I was trying to do. He says if they don't find Chroma I will be charged as an accessory, because I tried to mislead them."

"They won't find Chroma," Ranger said. "And you won't be charged with anything. Simon can say what he wants, but he can't prove anything."

"Everything will be fine," I said. "Except I'll be left with a lumpy hand."

"The lump will be your badge of honor," Ranger said. I grinned at him and began working my way down his body with my lips. They lingered over the scar on his chest where the bullet from Scrog had penetrated the vest. And suddenly, it came to me.

"I was wrong," I said. "You are perfect. Your body just wears many badges."

"Babe."

Later, we dressed and ate an early dinner, compliments of Ella. Ranger was quiet most of the meal and so was I. He'd said he'd take me home after dinner. I don't know what I was expecting. Well, that was a lie. I'd been expecting, or at least hoping, he'd ask me to stay.

The food was, as always when Ella prepared it, delicious. Beef Bourguignon with homemade rolls and a crisp green salad. I ate everything. At the end of the meal Ranger topped off my wine glass and lifted his glass toward mine. I raised my glass and, as the crystal goblets clinked, he offered a toast.

"To us." His eyes fell to the table and mine followed. There was a small blue velvet ring box sitting next to my dinner plate.

The question was clear in my eyes as I looked across the table at him. He reached across and lifted the little box. He flipped the lid open and held it out to me. Nestled inside was a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring. The setting was platinum, I thought, and it looked very old.

"It was my grandmother's," he said. "She was important to me, and so are you, so it seems right that you should have it." He took the ring and slipped it onto my uninjured left ring finger. It fit perfectly.

"I don't understand," I said hesitantly. "Is it an engagement ring?"

"Do you want it to be?" he asked.

I shook my head slightly. "I don't know."

"Let's call it our relationship ring, for now," he said. "Wear it as an acknowledgement by both of us, that there is something real between us. I don't know if it will ever be an engagement ring, but I don't know that it won't be one. Can you live with that?"

I had no words and my eyes were filling with tears. I nodded emphatically, and somehow he was around the table and I was being pulled from my chair into his embrace.

Later we were sitting side-by-side on his sofa. He reached out and ran his hand over the smooth center of the sapphire of my ring. "This represents a change for you, doesn't it?" I asked him.

"Yes."

"Why?" I asked. "What made you change how you feel?"

"I haven't changed how I feel," he said. "I know I'm not good at relationships, but I'm willing to reexamine my past failures and try for a better outcome in the future…and you are the reason why, Babe."

"That sounds nice," I said, "but I wasn't reason enough a few weeks ago." I may have been pushing my luck, but I wasn't going to let him off the hook.

He was quiet for a moment and I knew he was weighing his words. Ranger was far from verbose, so he made his words count. "When you said you were through with Joe, _totally, finally_ I knew you believed it to be true. But you'd believed it many times before and gone back to him. When you decided to help Chroma at the expense of Joe, I knew it was over between the two of you."

I should have been angry, except for one thing. He was right. Time after time I'd gone back to Joe. Illene Jefferies, the ER doctor the night I first broke my hand, had commented on it. Joe and I had become Burg entertainment, and neither one of us deserved that. It was normal that Ranger would suspect this time was the same, even if I knew in my heart it wasn't.

"We became partners in bounty hunting a long time ago," Ranger said. "I want to make you a partner in all areas of my life. We might take a traditional route or we might not. All I really know is I want you in all parts of my life. Can you live with an indefinite future?"

"Yes, I can. I don't exactly know what I want either. I've never been traditional. What if you want marriage and a family, and I can't commit? Can you live with an indefinite future?"

"As long as we live it together, Babe."

We sat close together not speaking. I felt different, as if our conversation had somehow been a vow. I was at peace, or mostly so. His use of the word partner had made me think of Chroma and I couldn't shake her from my mind.

He truly had ESP. He touched my ear with his lips and whispered, "She's safe. She's getting some help and she has good support."

"Where is she?" I asked.

"I can't say. I trust you, but this is something you shouldn't know, especially with Brian Simon nosing around. Trust me?"

"Yes."

He stood from the sofa and held out a hand to pull me up. "C'mon. I'll take you to your apartment and give you a half hour."

"A half hour?" I asked.

"To gather only the essentials. You're moving in here and I don't want to wait all night on you. I've got other things planned." His look was knowing, and I blushed.

Early the next morning, before sunrise, I felt Ranger slide from the bed. I knew he exercised every morning, and I assumed he was getting ready to go down to the gym. Chroma had become an integral part of the early morning workouts for Ranger and his men. I wondered how their routines had changed since she'd been gone.

I slipped from the bed and made my way to the bathroom for a necessary visit. Instead of heading back to bed, I went into the dressing room. Ranger was dressed in sweats and athletic shoes. "Are you going down to work out?" I asked.

"I'm going to run today," he said. "It's supposed to be a nice spring day, and I think we're through with the rain for a while. It should be a good morning to log a few miles."

"Could I come?" I asked. He stared at me, surprise evident in his face. It was widely known I hated to exercise and I never volunteered for it…at least not before I met Chroma. "I know I can't run as far as you," I said, "or as fast either. But I would like to keep up what I started, with Chroma."

"That would make her happy," he said.

"You think so?" I asked

"Yes."

I ran with Ranger that morning, and the next. On the third day I slept in, but I met with Lula and Val to run later in the morning. They had both found a new trainer at the gym where Chroma had previously worked. There was speculation as to why she'd left so suddenly, but no one at the gym knew the true story. I wasn't even sure if I knew the true story, but it probably wasn't important whether I did or not. What was important was that I remembered the friend she'd been and what she taught me.

Over the next few weeks my endurance grew, and I wished there was some way I could tell Chroma what a lasting impression she'd made on me. And on Lula and Val. I tried to share my thoughts on Chroma with Ranger, but he was unrelenting in his decision not to share information about her.

I wanted to tell her more than the fact I was running. I wanted to say I was sorry for the cruel way I'd acted in the Bookem bar after our color run. And I wanted to tell her I hoped she'd find happiness, the kind I'd found with Ranger. I couldn't say any of that, so instead, I ran. Every day.


	26. Chapter 26

_**A/N: I missed my Wednesday posting because I was/am a sick girl. The drugs have kicked in though, so here goes. Thanks to my beta for her speedy return of what was a sloppy chapter. If you see mistakes, they are mine, and probably ones she has corrected...but corrections I have missed. Thanks jago ji for your patience and persistence.**_

_**They don't belong to me, darn it!**_

Chapter 26

Running On Empty

Living with Ranger was good, beyond my expectations, which had been high. I split my days between visiting clients and driving the killer car Ranger had provided for me, and doing searches. Now that I had identified Rodriguez, I was developing a friendly relationship with him, in spite of all the work he stacked on my desk. We hadn't quite gotten to the "let's do lunch" stage, but we were working on it. If I ventured outside of RangeMan for lunch, it was usually with Howdy, for a quick trip to Luigi Chan's. I was developing a serious addiction to Italian-Asian cuisine.

Most days I had lunch with Ranger on seven, and there was always dessert—the non-fattening kind. After one particularly energetic dessert, Ranger watched me re-dress. My black cargos rode low on my hips, a lot lower than they used to.

"You're losing weight," he commented.

"Yeah," I said. "I am. As a matter of fact, Lula and I are going shopping today after work. I need some new jeans, and I think I'm getting a size smaller."

"Why are you trying to lose weight?" Ranger asked.

"I'm not trying," I said. "It's a combination of eating all my meals with you and running. You know I've been running every day, and with this dang cast on my hand I can't work for Vinnie, so I haven't had any Cluck-In-A-Bucket lunches, or Tasty Pastry breakfasts."

Ranger watched as I pulled on my shirt and continued to get ready to get back to my desk. I had a full afternoon's work ahead of me. He was still naked and looking unconcerned about the time.

"Don't you have to get back down to five?" I asked him.

"Eventually, but I'm the boss. I thought I'd shower and attend to some personal business before I go back on duty." He paused for a moment, considering what he was about to say. "Stephanie,"…uh oh, my full name, not Steph or Babe. I stopped with one sock on and one sock off and gave him my full attention.

"Don't lose too much weight. I like your curves. A man has to have something to hang on to. And maybe you should moderate the running. Change it up with some other form of exercise. I know Tank or Lester would be happy to spar with you, help you with a few self-defense and take-down techniques."

Immediately, I thought of Brazilian Jiu Jistu, and Chroma. "Thanks," I said. "I think I'll just stick to the running for a while." I walked close to him and he stood from where he'd been sitting on the edge of the bed. I reached out and took one of his hands and placed it on my breast. I pulled the other hand around to my ass. "As for having something to hang on to," I whispered in his ear, "you're not in danger of running out of places to latch on to for quite a while." Needless to say, I was late getting back from lunch, and I'm not sure if Ranger ever attended to his personal business.

Lula picked me up at RangeMan later that afternoon and we went shopping. "I don't suppose you're interested in a new wig," she said. "Wig-A-Do is having another sale. I think I'd like to try some curly hair like yours."

"Ugh," I responded. "I am not in the mood for wig shopping, and why you'd want this, I have no idea!" I pointed to my hair, which had not been looking its best during the time I'd been one-handed.

"Good point," she said. "Let's go to the mall." I found some jeans that were one size smaller than my normal, and they slid on perfectly. Thanks to Ranger and his generous pay scale, I pulled out my debit card instead of my credit card.

"You know," I said, "RangeMan pays better than Vinnie."

"Depends," Lula said. "Ranger's been having his men cover for you and I'm usually their assistant. I've been making way more money than when I work with you."

I shot her a dirty look. "What are you saying?"

"I'm sayin'," she said. "Maybe you should stick with RangeMan all the time, and let me work with those hunky men." She made a valid point.

"I don't know about sticking with RangeMan, but I'm planning on sticking with Ranger."

"Damn skippy," she said. "Tank and me are doing real good, too." She gave me a sly glance. "Fact is, this time next month I might be shoppin' for a mink coat."

"Ah, the eight-minute rule," I said, remembering a past conversation. I was careful not to get too detailed with Lula, because I thought she swam in some deep sexual waters…places where I would definitely need water-wings. "You do realize next month will be the middle of summer? There's not much need for a mink coat in the middle of a Trenton summer."

"I hear that," Lula said. "I could maybe wait a few months. I don't see this ending anytime soon."

"That's good," I said.

"Yeah, it is," she agreed. "You're happy, I'm happy, and Val seems real happy, too, even if she won't talk about her mystery man. You think it's Albert?"

"Not likely," I said. "I think she's just taking a walk on the wild side, and it's time. She's had kind of a rough go for the last few years. I'm getting my sister back, the one I used to have, and it's a good feeling."

"She doing real good," Lula agreed. "I was thinking you should give your old jeans to her…the ones that are too big for you now would probably fit her. She's looking nice and slim."

"That's a good idea," I said.

"Yep, we're all doing well," Lula said. "And we owe it all to Chroma. This new trainer is good, but she ain't Chroma. I miss that girl. Hey, now that we're done shopping you wanna get some supper? We could go to Cluck-In-A-Bucket, or we could go to Pino's for a meatball sub."

Chroma. I wondered where she was having dinner. "Not tonight," I told Lula. "I've got some plans, but sometime soon. Maybe we can do lunch."

"Sure thing." She dropped me off at RangeMan, and I was happy to find Ranger absent from the apartment. I changed into shorts and a t-shirt, and mentally mapped my run.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was early, but Ranger had been up for a while. It was Saturday and I wasn't scheduled to work, but Ranger pretty much worked every day. I heard him moving around in the kitchen, so maybe he was making us breakfast. I was getting ready to get dressed and join him, but I had to take care of something first.

My cast was driving me crazy. It was supposed to have been taken off three days earlier, but in a moment of unclear thinking I had agreed to a crazy scheme Lester had presented to me. We, meaning me and the merry men, were meeting for a "Coming Out" party at Shorty's tonight. Bobby had somehow located a cast-cutting saw, and Lester assured me Bobby was qualified to remove my cast. And, surprisingly, my doctor had approved the plan, because x-rays indicated the bone was fully healed.

The men would gather around me while Bobby removed my cast, and then we'd celebrate with pizza and lots of beer. Several of the guys were bringing dates, and I was sure Lula would be there with Tank. It sounded like fun so I agreed. It was really just an excuse for a party, but I was happy to lend my arm…until this morning when the itching beneath my cast was making me nuts. I was looking for something, anything, I could shove down the cast to ease the itch.

Ranger walked into the bedroom, and I forgot all about my itch. He was wearing a white polo shirt, painted on, and a pair of faded jeans that clung in all the right places. "What's going on?" I asked. I'd seen him in clothes other than black before, but there was usually a really good reason, like he was hiding out or in disguise.

"Are you getting ready to run?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Wear this, then." He handed me a small shopping bag. I looked inside to find a pair of Under Armor running shorts, hot pink, and a t-shirt to match. I looked up at him. "They match your running shoes," he said. They did, indeed, match my running shoes, a recent purchase. Ranger had bought me clothing before, but mostly it was the kind that, when I put in on, he wanted to take it right back off. This was atypical behavior.

"What's this all about?" I asked.

"It's nothing," he said. He glanced at his wristwatch. "Hurry up. We need to leave."

"You're running with me? You're not dressed for running."

"I'm taking you to a new place to run. You'll like it." I knew something was going on. I didn't want to go so far as to think he had a hidden agenda, but there was definitely something I didn't know. I didn't take time to argue though. I changed my clothes, and as we exited the apartment Ranger handed me a bottle of water and half of a toasted bagel, smothered with cream cheese. With my mouth full it was hard to talk, so I waited until the bagel was history and we were heading north in the Turbo.

We took 295 north, around the bend to 95, and then onto a county road. I thought I knew where we were headed. I didn't know why.

"You're taking me to Princeton to run?" I asked.

"Yes. I've entered you in the Princeton half-marathon. It starts in an hour. You'll just need to go to the registration table to sign in. Everything else is taken care of."

"Wh-what?" I asked on a whoosh of exhaled air. "I can't run in a half-marathon. Are you nuts?"

"You have no choice." I reached across the console and grabbed his arm.

"Of course I have a choice," I said. "Turn this car around. I'm not running in a race." My stomach was churning, and I was beginning to wonder if I was going to see the bagel reappear soon. I wasn't an athlete. I hated exercise. I ran for…fun, not to be competitive.

"Babe," Ranger said in a patient tone. "RangeMan participates in the run every year. Usually I run, or one of my men does. It's a charity fundraiser, and all the money goes to a very good PTSD organization. This year I entered you, to represent RangeMan. It's an important cause to me. You need to run."

"I've never run that far before," I said. "I can't do it."

"You haven't run that far before," Ranger agreed. "But your tracker indicates you frequently run nine miles or more. One day last week, you ran almost eleven. You can push yourself to thirteen."

I sat stunned with the knowledge he'd been tracking my runs. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. "I won't win, I may not even finish. What happens then?" I asked.

"Do your best, Babe. Time is not an issue. If you finish you win."

_If you finish you win._ The exact words Chroma had said to us at the color run.

"I'll be waiting for you at the finish line," he continued. "We'll celebrate your run tonight as well as your cast coming off." I looked sharply at him. He didn't typically attend employee parties. It was part of his aloofness, or just another way to maintain space between the boss and the employees, I figured.

"So, you're coming to the party?" I asked. It would mean a lot to the men if he was there, and he knew it.

"If you run today, I'll come tonight," he said. Emotional arm-twisting. Ranger exerting his power.

"Okay," I said. "I'll try."

"Proud of you, Babe." I looked at him. His eyes were mainly focused on the road, but I could tell by the quick glance he sent me…he was proud of me. I gave in completely and began to tamp down the fear of running in a group of people who would, no doubt, take this event way more seriously than people had taken the color run. I could do it, or if I couldn't I'd die trying.

I was well back from the front in the throng of the people at the starting line. I looked down at the race number stuck to my chest and tattooed on my arm with a Magic Marker, and despite myself, I grinned. 0069. I'd save that sticker after the race. Even in the crowd of runners I was visible. Whatever had made Ranger choose a hot pink outfit?

When the starting horn sounded, I took off at a relaxed pace. I wasn't going to finish among the first, so I just concentrated on finishing. The crowd gradually thinned out and I started to breathe easier and lost my awareness of each stride. I had the momentary thought, I now knew what it was like for Ranger to be in his zone. I was in mine.

I came out of my zone somewhere around the ten-mile mark. I'd heard people talk about hitting the wall and hadn't realized it was a real thing, a physical thing. I felt as if my body had slammed into something hard. My legs felt like lead. I reached up and swiped sweat from my brow. A hot pink sweatband would have nicely completed my ensemble.

I was vaguely aware of a runner coming up behind me, and a pair of feet hitting the pavement in synchronicity with mine. And then a familiar voice said, "You can slow down for a while, but don't stop. You can do this, Stephanie." The runner was now running next to me, and I looked over at her. But I didn't have to see her for confirmation. It was Chroma. But it was Chroma with a black chin-length bob, obviously a wig. Hadn't I had enough darn wig trouble? She was wearing gray running clothes that were baggy on her magnificent body, just the opposite of what I was wearing. She didn't stand out, and now I was beginning to realize why Ranger had wanted me to be noticeable.

"What are you doing here?" I said, gasping for more breath.

"Slow down and listen to me. You'll regain your breath and strength. Don't panic. I'm here because I wanted to talk to you. To say thank you for what you did to help me get out of Trenton."

"I'm sorry…" I started to tell her the things I'd wanted to say since before she left but she interrupted me.

"Don't talk. Just listen. I was wrong to attack Joe, even though it wasn't unprovoked. I know what you did…how you put your own safety on the line so I could leave. And I know they are still looking for Chroma. They won't find her.

"I'm living in Canada now," she continued. "Near my mother and I'm using my own name. Ranger used his connections to ascertain that the threats from Anatoly's enemies are very low. They only wanted to hurt me to get to him, and he's in a place where no one can hurt him." She was silent for a few strides before she continued.

"I'm in therapy. It's a really good program, and I'm making great progress. If not for Ranger, I would never have realized I needed help. He's been a great friend. And I'm starting to work again, as a personal trainer. I have certifications in Canada under my own name. Real ones, not the manufactured ones I had for Chroma."

"What's your name?" I asked.

She smiled the shy smile I'd come to know and ducked her head a little. "Anya_._" We were silent for a while, and I realized that as she'd been talking she had gradually slowed our pace and now was increasing it. I was breathing easier, and I felt a wave of energy come over me. We passed a marker. Twelve miles finished. I was going to do this, and Chroma...Anya…had helped me do it. I felt happy.

We continued to run silently side-by-side. I could see the finish line in the far distance when she spoke again. "I care about you, Stephanie, and I know you care about me. I don't know if it's possible for us to see one another again. I'm taking a risk being here. I just wanted to tell you thanks for your help, and that I'll always consider you a friend. I know how much Ranger cares about you, and I hope someday to have someone who cares so much about me." She reached out and grabbed my uncasted hand, and we ran together. I felt somehow lighter than I had in a long time. We broke hands to sprint to the finish line.

I saw Ranger waiting for me, just as he'd said he would. I turned to smile at Chroma, but she was gone. I looked behind me. She wasn't there. I turned back to the front, and saw Ranger smiling at me. The whole 200-watt smile that was so rare was being directed entirely in my direction. I crossed the finish line where a group of race workers applauded for me, as they had for every person who had finished. Mindless of my sweaty body, I catapulted myself into his arms, and let him take my weight. He held me close to him, and I felt my body completely relax against him.

"Did you plan this?" I asked

"I did," he said softly. "She was going to come back to talk to you. She was determined, so I planned the way I thought would be safest for both of you."

"Why did you take the chance? It was dangerous for her."

"Not so much. She's traveling under her real name. There's no connection to Chroma, and she promised she'd change her identity."

"She did."

"She needed to talk to you, Babe." He held me away from his body and looked into my eyes. "And I thought you needed to talk to her."

We walked together to the completer's table where I picked up my certificate, and then we made our way back to the Porsche. It was time to go home and get ready for the party. I felt a sudden strong need to celebrate.

As Ranger opened the car door for me, I looked up at him.

"Thank you," I said.

"You're welcome." And then his mouth covered mine.

**Not Quite**

**The End**

Epilogue coming soon: Les(ter) is more.


End file.
